Webpage on Hawaiian Noni
GENERAL INFORMATION
Common Name: Indian Mulberry - Noni
Scientific: Morinda citrifolia
Alias: Tahitian Noni (tm), Morinda (tm)
Images: Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawaii: NONI
Warnings: Kidney patients should take note. Please read this information.
Description: Evergreen shrub or small tree reaching 10 feet high, sometimes more. The large oval dark reen shiny leaves are deeply veined and paired except where the fruit is growing. The flower heads are round consisting of many tiny white flowers which turn into 4 inch sized fruit. The fruit starts out green then turns yellow.
AN OVERVIEW
It appears, that Noni has been around the Pacific Islands for a long time, but is fairly new to the rest of our cultures. Once again on the search for information, I ran into incredible amounts of multi level marketing sites for Tahitian Noni (tm) juice. Most of the information came from the man who appears to have discovered the active ingredient, Dr. Ralph Heinicke from the University of Hawaii.
The people of the pacific have used Noni for just about everything from a tonic drink to broken bones. It is said, that a person won't take it until they are too sick and desperate because of the bad smell and taste. The plant has also been used as a dye. All parts of the plant are used depending on the use.
The active ingredient according to Dr. Heinicke, "is not present in the plant or fruit! Only after the potion has been drunk does the active ingredient form. Sometimes!".
MORE INFORMATION AND PRODUCTS
Scientific Research on Noni (Morinda citrifolia) - Cell regeneration and anti-cancer activity.
Scientific Research Studies On Tahitian Noni - From a Morinda Independant Distributor, good article though.
The Pharmacologically Active Ingredient of Noni - By R.M. Heinicke, University of Hawaii, the founder of the active ingredients.
Canoe Plants of Ancient Hawaii: NONI - Informative article from The 24 "Canoe Plants" of Ancient Hawaii.
LAB TEST RESULTS FOR MAUI NONI - Lab test / label information from Maui Noni.
Scientific Studies on Tahitian Noni - Recent studies from Morinda Inc.
About Radioactivity and Tahitian Noni - Interesting article about the concern of radioactivity in Noni from the French atomic testing in the Tahitian Islands.
This is a fascinating plant, demanding of our respect. Its prolific beauty, bearing fruit year round...as if to say, "here I am, please use me." However, as you may already be aware, few of us are willing to make its intimate acquaintance. The aroma of its fruit is truly awesome. Some say "disgusting" or "horrid" or "stinks bad" or worse. And, it doesn't taste good either! Yet, it is well-known to be one of the main healers among the traditional Hawai`i medicinal plants. It is said that this plant food is to be used when we are feeling really ill or really old.
The noni, also known as Indian Mulberry, with the scientific name of Morinda citrifolia, is a small evergreen shrub or tree, usually less than 10 feet high, occasionally up to 20 feet. The conspicuous large dark green shiny leaves are generally paired, except where forming fruit. Thick and oval in shape, they are deep veined, short-stemmed and 8 inches or longer. The flowers form in globose heads, about an inch long and bearing many small white flowers. The flower heads grow to become mature fruit, 3 to 4 inches in diameter. The fruits resemble those of `ulu, breadfruit, only smaller. The surface is divided into somewhat warty polygonal pitted cells. The noni fruit begins green, turns yellow, and as mentioned, has an unpleasant, insipid, foul or fetid odor, especially as it ripens to whiteness and falls from the tree.
In the early morning, the best time to pick most plants, I carry a gallon glass jar like the institutional ones for pickles, and pule (pray with) the plant, thanking it for its food. I pick the fruit at its yellow stage, filling the jar and capping it tightly. I place the jar in a sunny spot, letting it set there for five days to a week or more, until the fruit turns to mush and sun-charged juices drain into the bottom of the jar. It is these juices that can be strained into a cleaner smaller jar, and then refrigerated until used.
Another method taught by Hawai`i's healers is to pick the fruit before ripe, letting it ripen within the home. When soft, place it in a blender with a little fresh water and make into a sauce. Then mash and strain through a sieve. This concoction can be refrigerated in a clean glass jar, and the person who wishes the medicine can take a clean straw and slurp two sucks from the
jar, in the morning and in the evening.
As a medicine, the fruit and its juices have been used in the treatment of diabetes, heart troubles and high blood pressure, with different portions prescribed for different illnesses.
The juices can be diluted with clean water or a fruit juice such as apple, and drunk before meals and at resting periods. Treatment should always be at a relaxed time, not before going to work. It is good to seek the advice of an Hawai`i health practitioner before using any plant medicines. Noni is believed to have been brought here centuries ago by early Polynesian settlers, and is a native of the Pacific islands, Asia and Australia.
The late Uncle Harry Mitchell of Keanae, Maui, suggested using noni with garlic, both being great blood purifiers and cleansers of bacteria from the body. He also mentioned boiling it for use with diabetes, and using it strained raw for heart problems and high blood pressure, as it is said to increase the flow of blood.
The young unripe fruit can be pounded thoroughly with salt and the mixture placed carefully on deep cuts and on broken bones. Sometimes the juice is squeezed out of this mixture, boiled and applied to the wounds. The ripe fruit can be used as a poultice for facial blemishes, rubbed until the oil disappears, and also to draw out the pus and core from an infected sore or boil, such as with a staph infection. In the old days, this was tied on with a bandage of tapa bark cloth. The dressing of noni could be reapplied more than once for difficult cases.
There are those that eat noni's fruit unripened, either as a food in times of scarcity, or as a tonic when needed. Other people make a tea using the leaves of this plant. The fruit was used in a recipe for a reputed remedy against tuberculosis, arthritis, rheumatism and the changes of old age. The leaves and bark of the stem were pounded and strained, resulting in a liquid drunk as a tonic or for urinary disorders, muscle and joint pain. The juice of the fruit was applied to the hair to rid it of head lice, uku, followed whenever possible by a fragrant shampoo of `awapuhi kuahiwi or coconut water.
Other uses for this ancient Polynesian plant: the bark yields a red dye, while a yellow dye can be prepared from the root. Both colors were use to dye the tapa cloth of the chiefs of ancient Hawai`i.
Cultivation is either by seed or cutting. Noni is a valuable plant to have nearby the home of anyone wishing to utilize the many natural healing properties of this remarkable life sustaining plant.
"Noni contains compounds that work at the cellular
level to actually increase the positive functionality of
cells in the body."
http://www.herblink.net/nonijuice.html
Dr.Ralph Heinicke, Ph.D.
Countless health care professionals, as well as thousands of people who have reported miraculous., life-changing health improvements are describing Morinda Citrifolia, commonly known as noni, as on of the most important health discoveries of the twentieth century. However, this "discovery" comes as no surprise to Polynesian healers who have reportedly used this "miracle from paradise" for over 2,000 years to treat every ailment imaginable. For centuries, they've utilized practically every part of the noni plant for medicinal purposes. Noni seeds, for example are known to have a purgative action. Noni bark has strong astringent properties and is used in the treatment of malaria. The leaves of the noni plant are used to relieve pain, as well as to treat external inflammations. Extracts of the noni root lower blood pressure and the noni fruit itself has a wide variety of medicinal uses.
The US military has studied the noni plant and determined it to be useful in dealing with both
inflammation and infection. And virtually all Polynesians have learned from their ancestors, the
importance of noni when it comes to treating most types of poisoning.
Mature noni trees can grow to between 15 to 20 feet tall and they bear fruit year-round. The fruit is about the size of a potato. If picked green, noni fruit will not ripen.
Noni has only recently been made available on the commercial market. Over the past eighteen months, the use of noni has spread quickly as tens of thousands of people share their dramatic personal experiences about how noni has helped them to live a more rewarding life. noni is also gaining wide acceptance among doctors.
Patients with kidney disease:
Beware noni juice!
http://www.thriveonline.com/health/news/RB/2000Feb14/2.html
NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Reuters Health) -- A type of fruit juice sold in health food stores can be a hidden source of potassium and thus could be hazardous for patients with kidney disease, a recent report warns.
Noni juice is sold as an herbal remedy and its users claim (on numerous websites) that it can help reduce
high blood pressure, menstrual cramps, arthritis, ulcers, sprains, depression, sexual dysfunction, senility, heart disease and chronic fatigue syndrome, among other ailments. The juice is derived from the fruit of the noni tree (Morinda citrifolia).
However, the juice also contains potassium, but does not include this information on the label, according to
a report in the February issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. While potassium alone is not hazardous (and is found in many fruit juices), it can be harmful for patients with kidney disease who cannot
excrete the substance. If blood levels of potassium are too high, patients can suffer irregular heart rhythms and heart attack.
'Patients with kidney disease and unexplained hyperkalemia (high potassium levels) should be queried about their ingestion of herbal remedies and alternative medicine products because they may be a hidden source of potassium,' report Dr. Bruce A. Mueller, of Purdue University in Indianapolis, Indiana, and colleagues.
The researchers report the case of a man with kidney disease who visited his doctor for a routine checkup.
Blood tests indicated that potassium and other markers of kidney disease were dangerously high.
The patient denied consuming any potassium-rich foods such as bananas and orange juice but admitted
that he had begun to drink a shot of noni juice before each meal. The juice, he claimed, had cured a relative
of cancer.
The patient continued to drink the juice despite warnings that it may contain potassium and at his next
visit, potassium remained elevated. The patient insisted that he would never stop drinking the juice and said the doctors 'did not understand the power of noni juice,' according to the report. The patient never returned to the clinic.
The doctors purchased a bottle of noni juice from a health food store and had it analyzed in a lab. The
potassium content of the juice was found to be similar to that of orange juice and tomato juice, which are
generally restricted in the diets of patients with kidney disease.
According to the researchers, the case illustrates the potential dangers of herbal products, which, despite a
lack of federal oversight, are becoming increasingly popular in the US.
'The use of herbal products by patients continues to grow, and (patients) often do not tell their healthcare
providers about the use of these alternative therapies,' Mueller and colleagues write. The researchers tested
noni juice manufactured by Body Systems Technology, Inc. of Casselberry, Florida.
SOURCE: American Journal of Kidney Diseases
2000;35:310-312.
(14 Feb 2000 18:55 EST)
*
Manufacturer Agrees to Cease Unproved Claims About
Noni Juice
By John Slovick
Claims that Tahitian Noni Juice can cure diseases are no longer being made by Morinda, Inc., the
product's manufacturer.
Noni Juice has long been talked about in the HIV community as an alternative therapy for the
treatment of HIV disease. Morinda, Inc. has claimed that its product can stimulate the growth of
T-cells and restore immune function. The company makes similar claims of cures for diabetes,
cancer, depression and a list of other diseases.
According to the attorneys general of Arizona, California, New Jersey and Texas, these claims make
Tahitian Noni an unapproved new drug under state and federal laws. Without the approval of the
Food and Drug Administration, which requires reliable, reproducible scientific evidence of a drug's
ability to treat a disease, it is illegal to sell a drug for the treatment of a specific disease or diseases.
Calling Tahitian Noni a drug under these conditions stops the manufacturer from using unproven
claims to sell their product.
Under the terms of the multi-state agreement, Morinda, Inc., will:
Stop making claims that Tahitian Noni can cure, treat or prevent any disease until it is cleared
for those uses by the FDA.
Make no other claims regarding the benefits of Tahitian Noni until the company can verify
those claims.
No longer use consumer testimonials which imply that results are "typical" or "ordinary" unless
the company can verify those results.
In addition Morinda, Inc. must pay the $100,000 used by the states mentioned above to investigate
Tahitian Noni, and provide refunds to any consumer who requests a refund in writing.
John Slovick is a treatment advocate in AIDS Project Los Angeles' Treatment Education
Program. He can be reached by calling (323) 993-1526 or by e-mail at jslovick@APLA.org.
This article has been reprinted at The Body with the permission of AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA). This article was taken from APLA's Positive Living Newsletter.
Patients of kidney disease:
Beware of Noni Juice!
This information is taken from the website as a precautional measure.
NEW YORK, Feb 14 (Reuters Health) -- A type of fruit juice sold in health food stores can be a hidden source of potassium and thus could be hazardous for patients with kidney disease, a recent report warns.
Noni juice is sold as an herbal remedy and its users claim (on numerous websites) that it can help reduce high blood pressure, menstrual cramps, arthritis, ulcers, sprains, depression, sexual dysfunction, senility, heart disease and chronic fatigue syndrome, among other ailments. The juice is derived from the fruit of the noni tree (Morinda citrifolia).
However, the juice also contains potassium, but does not include this information on the label, according to a report in the February issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. While potassium alone is not hazardous (and is found in many fruit juices), it can be harmful for patients with kidney disease who cannot excrete the substance. If blood levels of potassium are too high, patients can suffer irregular heart rhythms and heart attack.
'Patients with kidney disease and unexplained hyperkalemia (high potassium levels) should be queried about their ingestion of herbal remedies and alternative medicine products because they may be a hidden source of potassium,' report Dr. Bruce A. Mueller, of Purdue University in Indianapolis, Indiana, and colleagues.
The researchers report the case of a man with kidney disease who visited his doctor for a routine checkup. Blood tests indicated that potassium and other markers of kidney disease were dangerously high.
The patient denied consuming any potassium-rich foods such as bananas and orange juice but admitted that he had begun to drink a shot of noni juice before each meal. The juice, he claimed, had cured a relative of cancer.
The patient continued to drink the juice despite warnings that it may contain potassium and at his next visit, potassium remained elevated. The patient insisted that he would never stop drinking the juice and said the doctors 'did not understand the power of noni juice,' according to the report. The patient never returned to the clinic.
The doctors purchased a bottle of noni juice from a health food store and had it analyzed in a lab. The potassium content of the juice was found to be similar to that of orange juice and tomato juice, which are generally restricted in the diets of patients with kidney disease.
According to the researchers, the case illustrates the potential dangers of herbal products, which, despite a lack of federal oversight, are becoming increasingly popular in the US.
'The use of herbal products by patients continues to grow, and (patients) often do not tell their healthcare providers about the use of these alternative therapies,' Mueller and colleagues write. The researchers tested noni juice manufactured by Body Systems Technology, Inc. of Casselberry, Florida.
SOURCE: American Journal of Kidney Diseases 2000;35:310-312.