Noni

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Great morinda, Noni
Leaves, and fruit of Morinda citrifolia
Leaves, and fruit of Morinda citrifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Morinda
Species: M. citrifolia
Binomial name
Morinda citrifolia
L.
Noni, Morinda citrifolia

Morinda citrifolia, commonly known as great morinda, Indian mulberry, Mengkudu (Malaysia), beach mulberry, Tahitian noni, cheese fruit[1] or noni (from Hawaiian) is a tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. Morinda citrifolia is native to Southeast Asia but has been extensively spread throughout the Indian subcontinent, Pacific islands, French Polynesia, Puerto Rico and recently the Dominican Republic. Tahiti remains the most prominent growing location.

Contents

[edit] Growing habitats

Noni Flower

Noni grows in shady forests as well as on open rocky or sandy shores. It reaches maturity in about 18 months and then yields between 4–8 kilograms (8.8–18 lb) of fruit every month throughout the year. It is tolerant of saline soils, drought conditions, and secondary soils. It is therefore found in a wide variety of habitats: volcanic terrains, lava-strewn coasts, and clearings or limestone outcrops. It can grow up to 9 metres (30 ft) tall, and has large, simple, dark green, shiny and deeply veined leaves.

The plant flowers and fruits all year round and produces a small white flower. The fruit is a multiple fruit that has a pungent odor when ripening, and is hence also known as cheese fruit or even vomit fruit. It is oval and reaches 4–7 centimetres (1.6–2.8 in) in size. At first green, the fruit turns yellow then almost white as it ripens. It contains many seeds. It is sometimes called starvation fruit. Despite its strong smell and bitter taste, the fruit is nevertheless eaten as a famine food[2] and, in some Pacific islands, even a staple food, either raw or cooked.[3] Southeast Asians and Australian Aborigines consume the fruit raw with salt or cook it with curry. The seeds are edible when roasted.

The noni is especially attractive to weaver ants, which make nests out of the leaves of the tree. These ants protect the plant from some plant-parasitic insects. The smell of the fruit also attracts fruit bats, which aid in dispersing the seeds.

[edit] Nutrients

Noni fruit in Honolulu

Noni fruit powder is high in carbohydrates and dietary fiber. According to the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, a 100g sample of the powder contains 71% carbohydrate and 36% fiber. The sample also contained 5.2% protein and 1.2% fat.[4]

These macronutrients evidently reside in the fruit pulp, as noni juice has sparse amounts of macronutrients.[5]

The main micronutrients of noni pulp powder include 9.81mg of vitamin C per 1200mg sample, as well as 0.048mg niacin (vitamin B3), 0.02mg iron and 32.0mg potassium.[4] Vitamin A, calcium and sodium are present in moderate amounts.

When noni juice alone is analyzed and compared to pulp powder, only vitamin C is retained at a high level, 33.65mg per 100g of juice.[5]

Although the most significant nutrient feature of noni pulp powder or juice is its high vitamin C content, noni fruit juice provides only about half the vitamin C of a raw navel orange.[6] Sodium levels in the noni juice blend (about 3% of DRI)[4] are multiples of those in an orange. Although the potassium content appears relatively high for noni, this total is only about 3% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance and so would not be considered excessive. Noni juice is otherwise similar in micronutrient content to a raw orange.[6]

Noni fruit contains a number of phytochemicals, including lignans, oligo- and polysaccharides, flavonoids, iridoids, fatty acids, scopoletin, catechin, beta-sitosterol, damnacanthal, and alkaloids. Although these substances have been studied for bioactivity, current research does not conclude anything about their effects on human health.[7]

Laboratory experiments demonstrated that dietary noni juice increased physical endurance in mice.[8]

[edit] Uses

Noni was explored unsuccessfully by medical researchers for possible use in treating cancer.[9]


In Hawaii, ripe fruits are applied to draw out pus from an infected boil. The green fruit, leaves and the root/rhizome have traditionally been used to treat menstrual cramps and irregularities, among other symptoms, while the root has also been used to treat urinary difficulties.[9]

The bark of the great morinda produces a brownish-purplish dye for batik making; on the Indonesian island of Java, the trees are cultivated for this purpose. In Hawaii, yellowish dye is extracted from its root in order to dye cloth.[10]


There have been recent applications for the use of oil from noni seeds. [11] Noni seed oil is abundant in linoleic acid that may have useful properties when applied topically on skin, e.g., anti-inflammation, acne reduction, moisture retention.[12][13][14]

In Surinam and some other countries, the tree serves as a wind-break, as support for vines and as shade for coffee trees.

[edit] Gastronomy

In Malay cuisine the leaves of this plant are used for ulam, a type of Malay salad.[15]

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Morinda citrifolia

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Plants by Common Name - James Cook University
  2. ^ Krauss, BH (1993). Plants in Hawaiian Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 
  3. ^ Morton, JF (1992). "The Ocean-Going Noni, or Indian Mulberry (Morinda citrifolia, Rubiaceae) and Some of its "Colorful" Relatives". Economic Botony (New York) 46 (3): 241–256. 
  4. ^ a b c Nelson, Scot C. (2006) "Nutritional Analysis of Hawaiian Noni (Noni Fruit Powder)" The Noni Website. Retrieved 15-06-2009.
  5. ^ a b Nelson, Scot C. (2006) "Nutritional Analysis of Hawaiian Noni (Pure Noni Fruit Juice)" The Noni Website. Retrieved 15-06-2009.
  6. ^ a b World's Healthiest Foods, in-depth nutrient analysis of a raw orange
  7. ^ *Saleem et al. (2005). An update on bioactive plant lignans. Nat Prod Rep 22:696-716.
    • Deng S, Palu AK, West BJ, et al. (2007). Lipoxygenase Inhibitory Constituents of the Fruits of Noni (Morinda citrifolia) Collected in Tahiti. J Nat Prod 70(5):859-862.
    • Lin CF, Ni CL, Huang YL, et al. (2007). Lignans and anthraquinones from the fruits of Morinda citrifolia. Natural Product Research 21(13):1199-1204.
    • Levand O, Larson HO. Some chemical constituents of Morinda citrifolia. Planta Medica 36(2):186-187.
    • Mohd Zin Z, Abdul Hamid A, Osman A, et al. (2007). Isolation and identification of antioxidative compound from fruit of mengkudu (Morinda citrifolia L.). International Journal of Food Properties 10(2):363-373. Furthermore, these phytochemicals are not unique to noni, as nearly all exist in various plant foods.
  8. ^ Ma DL, West BJ, Su CX, Gao JH, Liu TZ, Liu YW. Evaluation of the ergogenic potential of noni juice. Phytotherapy Research. 2007 Nov; 21(11):1100-1101
  9. ^ a b McClatchey, Will (2002). "From Polynesian Healers to Health Food Stores: Changing Perspectives of Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae)" (PDF). Integrative Cancer Therapies 1 (2): 110–120. doi:10.1177/1534735402001002002. PMID 14664736. http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/noni/Downloads/MorindaCitrifolia.pdf. 
  10. ^ Thompson, RH (1971). Naturally Occurring Anthraquinones. New York: Academic Press. 
  11. ^ West BJ, Jensen CJ, Westendorf J. A new vegetable oil from noni (Morinda citrifolia) seeds. International Journal of Food Science and Technology 43(11):1988-1992.
  12. ^ "Plant oils: Topical application and anti-inflammatory effects (croton oil test)". Dermatol. Monatsschr 179: 173. 1993. 
  13. ^ Letawe,; Letawe C, Boone M, Pierard GE (March 1998). "Digital image analysis of the effect of topically applied linoleic acid on acne microcomedones". Clinical & Experimental Dermatology 23 (2): 56–58. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2230.1998.00315.x. PMID : 9692305. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=9692305&itool=iconabstr&query_hl=17&itool=pubmed_docsum. 
  14. ^ Darmstadt, G L; Darmstadt GL, Mao-Qiang M, Chi E, Saha SK, Ziboh VA, Black RE, Santosham M, Elias PM (2002). "Impact of topical oils on the skin barrier: possible implications for neonatal health in developing countries". Acta Paediatrica 91 (5): 546–554. doi:10.1080/080352502753711678. 
  15. ^ Nasi ulam recipe

[edit] Further reading

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Aal.
  • Noni: The Complete Guide for Consumers and Growers. Permanent Agriculture Resources. August 2006. pp. 112. ISBN 0-9702544-6-6. 
  • Kamiya, K.; Kamiya K, Tanaka Y, Endang H, Umar M, Satake T (September 2004). "Chemical constituents of Morinda citrifolia fruits inhibit copper-induced low-density lipoprotein oxidation". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52 (19): 5843–8. doi:10.1021/jf040114k. ISSN 0021-8561. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noni"
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