Traditional Uses:
Polynesians picked the noni fruit before it was ripe, and place it in a jar in the
direct sunlight. When fully ripe, the noni fruit was mashed into a puree and the juice
was extracted through a cloth. The juice was then ready for use. People traditionally
took the juice during times of rest, when the body was under the least amount of stress. Noni was also served as a food dish.
Traditional Medicinal Uses:
• Parts of the fruit are used as a tonic and to contain fever (China, Japan, Hawaii)
• The leaves, flowers, fruit, and bark can treat eye problems, skin wounds and
abscesses, gum and throat problems, respiratory ailments, constipation, and
fever (Pacific Islands, Hawaii)
• Used to treat stomach pains and after delivery (Marshall Islands)
• Heated leaves applied to the chest relieve coughs, nausea, and colic (Malaysia)
• Juice of the leaves is taken for arthritis (Philippines)
• The fruit is taken for lumbago, asthma, and dysentery (Indochina)
• Pounded, unripe fruit is mixed with salt and applied to cuts and broken bones
• Ripe fruit is used to draw out pus from an infected boil (Hawaii)
• Juices of over-ripe fruits are taken to regulate menstrual flow and ease urinary
problems (Malaysia)
• The fruit can be used to make shampoo (Malaysia, Hawaii) and to treat head lice (Hawaii).
• Other exotic diseases treated with the plant include diabetes (widespread) and
venereal diseases.
• A Thriving New Market.
• Noni has remained relatively unknown to the rest of the world and up until 1996 there was no noni market to speak of. Today, however, many companies have expanded the world noni market. Over 200 companies have begun commercially selling noni products. Noni is currently distributed in more than 50 countries across the globe including Nigeria , and its health benefits have been realized by millions of consumers, Noni fruits and juice are very much available in Nigeria; we now have noni farms in Nigeria.
Current Noni Research
• Dr. Ralph Heinicke and Afa Palu are working on the extraction and structure of Proxeronine and Xeronine.
• Dr. Anne Hirazumi Kim is doing follow-up work on noni and it's effect on Lewis lung carcinoma cells.
• Dr. Mian-Ying Wang is working on the first human clinical trial involving
Noni Juice at the University of Illinois, Rockford. This research
is being funded with a grant from Morinda, Inc. The study is on the "Chemopreventative Effect of NONI Juice in Human Smokers."
• Dr E. Furusawa at the University of Hawaii has researched the effect of
NONI Juice and chemotherapy drugs on the sarcoma 180 line
of cancer cells.
• Individuals have uncovered noni's ability to inhibit the COX-II enzyme while allowing the COX-I enzyme to continue to function.
• Scientists are also investigating the antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasistic properties of NONI Juice.
• Dr. C. Ho at Rutgers University is researching new novel compounds in noni.
• Research is being done on the potent antioxidative properties of noni.
• Researchers are investigating the toxicological, allergenicity, and genotoxicity of noni.