A BRIEF REVIEW ON NONI (MORINDA CITRIFOLIA L.) - A HERBAL REMEDY FOR BETTER HEALTH

Abstract

Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) is an important herb of tropical regions of the world. It has been used for over 2000 years in Polynesia. All parts of this plant are useful for many purposes. It has more than 160 phyto - chemicals which make Noni a wonderful herbal remedy for the treatment of many disease and disorders, also a wide range of physiochemical compounds and essential elements which make Noni an effective health enhancer. Noni fruit juice is recently accepted as a novel food in the European Union. Now a day Noni juice is in high demand as an alternative medicine for various illnesses and it helps to live a long and healthy life. This review presents some active phytochemicals and therapeutic effects of Noni which was proved by various scientists earlier. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Headnote

ABSTRACT

Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) is an important herb of tropical regions of the world. It has been used for over 2000 years in Polynesia. All parts of this plant are useful for many purposes. It has more than 160 phyto - chemicals which make Noni a wonderful herbal remedy for the treatment of many disease and disorders, also a wide range of physiochemical compounds and essential elements which make Noni an effective health enhancer. Noni fruit juice is recently accepted as a novel food in the European Union. Now a day Noni juice is in high demand as an alternative medicine for various illnesses and it helps to live a long and healthy life. This review presents some active phytochemicals and therapeutic effects of Noni which was proved by various scientists earlier.

KEY WORDS: Morinda citrifolia, Noni, phyto chemicals, remedy, disease, disorders, enhancer.

INTRODUCTION

Herbal remedies refer to the use of plants for the promotion of healing and maintenance of health. Till date about 80 % of people in developing countries still relays on traditional medicine based largely on species of plants and animals for their primary health care. Herbal medicines are currently in demand and their increasing day by day (Von Reis, 1977).

Noni, with the botanical name Morinda Citrifolia L., is a medicinal plant which is used as a natural nutritional food supplement worldwide for centuries. Morton (1990) reported that the fruit of Noni plant have a history of use in the pharmacopoeias of pacific islands and south East Asia. Noni is one of the important traditional folk medicinal plants that have been used for over 2000 years in Polynesia. The Polynesians utilized the whole Noni plant for herbal remedies. The species of Morinda especially M. citrifolia has been reported to have a broad range of health benefits for cancer, infections, arthritis, asthma, hypertension, and pain (Whistler, 1992). The leaves, seeds, bark, fruits and roots of Noni have been used in various topical remedies in South Pacific Islands and South East Asia (Wang et al., 2002; Fygh-Berman, 2003). The various therapeutic benefits of Noni are due to the enriched phyto constituents. The high therapeutic profile and safety potential of Noni has made it a popular health enhancer and food supplement worldwide.

PLANT DESCRIPTION

Morinda citrifolia L., is a small tree with a height of 3-10 meter. It has an abundant long & broad elliptic leaves (5-17 cm length &10- 40 cm width). Flowers are small, tubular and white in colour. They are arranged in group and inserted in one peduncle. The petiole leave ring like marks on stalks and the corolla is greenish white. (Morton, 1992; Elkins, 1998; Dixon et al., 1999; Ross, 2001; Cardon, 2003). Fruits of Noni plant are oval and have an embossed appearance. Fruits have a range of colour from dark green to yellow with their different maturity stages. (Morton, 1992; Dixon et al., 1999). A mature fruit appear almost white in colour and is covered with a small reddish brown bud containing the seeds. The unripe fruit is odourless but the ripe fruit has a strong smell of butyric acid. The seeds are triangular in shape and radish brown in colour (Dittmar, 1993).

Chemical constituents

About 160 phyto - chemical compounds have been already identified in the Noni plant, and the major micronutrients are Phenolics compounds, organic acids and alkaloids (Wang and Su, 2001). Several classes of compounds have been isolated from M. citrifolia L., including amino acids, anthraquinones, coumarins, fatty acids, flavonoids, iridoids, lignans and polysaccharides (Chan-Blan-co et al., 2006). However, chemical composition differs significantly according to the part of the plant. The complete physico - chemical composition of the fruit has not yet been reported, and only partial information is available on M. citrifolia L. juice. The fruit contains 90% water, and the main components of the dry matter appear to be soluble solids, dietary fibre and proteins (Chunhieng, 2003).

Xeronine system

Noni fruit contains a natural precursor for Xeronine that Heinicke named Proxeronine. Proxeronine is converted to the alkaloid, Xeronine, in the body by an enzyme Proxeroninase. A hypothesis is that Xeronine is able to modify the molecular structure of proteins. Thus Xeronine has a wide range of biological activities. When a protein such as an enzyme, receptor, or signal transducer is not in the appropriate conformation, it will not work properly. Xeronine will interact with the protein and make it fold in to its proper conformation. The result is a properly functioning protein (Heinicke, 1985).

Some selective medicinal, biological and therapeutic activity of noni

The Polynesians utilized the whole Noni plant for herbal remedies. The fruit juice is in high demand in alternative medicine for different kind of illnesses such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, muscle aches and pains, menstrual irregularities, headache, heart disease, AIDS, cancers, gastric ulcer, sprains, mental depression, senility, poor digestion, arteriosclerosis, blood vessel problems, and drug addiction. Scientific evidence of the benefits of the Noni fruit juice is limited but there are some subjective evidences for successful treatment of colds and influenza (Solomon, 1999a). It is reported to have antibacterial, anti-fungal, analgesic, hypotensive, anti inflammatory and Immunostimulatory effects (McClatchey W., 2002 a & Wang et al., 2002; Mathivanan et al., 2005). Noni has a broad range of therapeutic effects such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, immune enhancing, anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antistress, antituberculous, antiprotozoal, antioxidant, and also sedative properties, also Noni is effective in cough, nausea, enlarged spleen, joint disorders such as gout and arthritis, senility, poor digestion, arthrosclerosis and drug addiction. These beneficial effects of Noni are strongly documented and well authenticated by valid scientific literature evidences. Noni also has a strong cancer preventive effect (Murugesh, 2007).

a. Anti- cancer activity

Damnacanthal, an anthraquinone extracted from Noni induces normal morphology in a particular type of cell found in human neoplasias (K-ras-NKR cells) that multiply uncontrollably and are highly malignant (Hiramatsu et al., 1993; Hirazumi et al., 1996; Hirazumi & Furusawa, 1999).

b. Anti HIV activity

A compound isolated from Noni roots named 1 - methoxy - 2 - formyl - 3 - hydroxyanthraquinone suppresses the cytopathic effect of HIV infected MT-4 cells without inhibiting cell growth (Umezawa et al., 1992).

c. Anti tubercular activity

At the International Chemical Congress of the Pacific Basin Societies meeting in Honolulu, Saludes and colleagues from the Philippines reported that Noni Kills Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A concentration of extracts from Noni leaves killed 89% of the bacteria in a test tube, almost as effectively as the leading anti-TB drug Rifampicin, which has an inhibitory rate of 97% at the same concentration.

d. Anti tumour activity

TNJ showed dose-dependent cytotoxicity on cultured cancer cells by inducing cancer cell necrosis at high doses and apoptosis at lower doses. Synergistic effects of TNJ with known anticancer drugs have been found (Wang et al., 2002).

e. Immunological activity

An alcohol extract of Noni fruit at various concentrations inhibits the production of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), which is an endogenous tumour promoter. Therefore, the alcohol extract may inhibit the tumour promoting effect of TNF-α (Ashina et al., 1994). Noni is also capable of stimulating the release of several mediators from murine effector cells, including TNF-α, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1), IL-10, IL-12, interferon-gamma (IFN- α and nitric oxide (NO) (Himzumi et al., 1990).

f. Anti oxidant activity

The SAR scavenging activity of Noni juice was shown to be 2.8 times higher than that of vitamin C, 1.4 times that of pycnogenol (PYC) and almost the same magnitude as that of grape seed powder (Wang & Su, 2001).

g. Analgesic activity

The results showed that rats fed 10% or 20% Noni juice had greater pain tolerance (162% or 212%, respectively) compared with the placebo group (Wang et et al., 2002). Noni root extract (1600 mg/kg) showed significant analgesic activity in the animals, similar to the effect of morphine (75% and 81%) protection using Noni extract and morphine, respectively), and it also proved to be non-toxic (Younos et al., 1990).

h. Anti inflammatory activity

Commercial M. citrifolia L. juice selectively inhibits cyclo oxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2) involved in breast, colon and lung cancer and also has anti-inflammatory activity (Su et al., 2001). The ability of Noni juice to inhibit these enzymes was compared to that of traditional commercial non-steroidal inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, Indomethacin and Celebrex.

i. Anti lithiatic effect

M. citrifolia. L has the anti Lithiatic effect on Ethylene Glycol induced Lithiasis in male albino rats. This observation provided the basis for considering Noni for inhibiting stone formation induced by ethylene glycol (Murugesh and Christina, 2007).

j. Anthelmintic activity

An ethanol extract of tender Noni leaves was found to induce paralysis and death in the human parasitic nematode Ascaris Lumbricoides within a day (Raj, 1975).

k. Hypotensive activity

A Hawaiian physician reported Noni, fruit juice to have a diuretic effect (Youngken et al., 1960).

A hot water extract of Noni roots lowered the blood pressure of an anesthetized dog (Youngken et al., 1958, Davison C, 1927). A Hawaiian physician reported that Noni fruit juice had a diuretic effect (Asahina AY et al., 1994).

l. Anti fungal activity

Recent research has demonstrated that it contains a water-soluble component or components that interfere with the morphological conversion of Candida albicans and may have potential therapeutic value with regard to candidiasis (Banerjee et al., 2006; Usha et al., 2010). Other studies showed that methanol extract of the dried fruit exhibited maximum percentage of inhibition against Trichophyton mentagrophytes (79.3%), while approximately 50% activity was recorded against Penicillium, Fusarium and Rhizopus species (Jainkittivong et al., 2009).

m. Anti bacterial activity

It has been reported that M. citrifolia L. inhibits the growth of certain bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus morgaii, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella and Shigella (Atkinson, 1956). Anti-microbial effect observed may be due to the presence of phenolic compounds such as acubin, l-asperuloside, alizarin, scopoletin and other anthraquinones. Another study showed that an acetonitrile extract of the dried fruit inhibits the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus pyrogene (Locher et al., 1995).

n. Anxiolytic activity

Recent research has demonstrated the effects of Noni fruit on preventing anxiety disorders, affecting an estimated 25% of the adult population at some point during their lifetime (Kjernised and Bleau, 2004).

o. Cardio vascular activity

Recent research has demonstrated the ability of Noni fruit to prevent arteriosclerosis, a disease related to the oxidation of low density lipoproteins (LDLs). This beneficial effect could be due to presence of lignans (Kamiya et al., 2004).

p. Esrogenic activity

Recent research has demonstrated the effects of Noni fruit on preventing anxiety disorders, affecting an estimated 25% of the adult population at some point during their lifetime (Kjernised and Bleau, 2004).

CONCLUSION

Noni with a botanical name Morinda citrifolia has a long history of widespread use as a food in tropical regions from Indonesia to the Hawaiian Islands, and it is used as an herbal remedy for multiple diseases. It carry several vitamins, minerals, micro and macro nutrients that help the body in various ways from cellular level to organ level. It also carries several phyto - chemicals which help to prevent severe infection and many diseases. It has been proved by various researchers that, drinking TNJ was beneficial for the prevention of heart, lung, and brain diseases as well as delaying the ageing processing, and maintaining overall good health so now a day a wide range of therapeutic effects of Noni make it a popular herbal medicine for better health.

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Cite this article:

Patel Swetal, Krishanamurthy R (2013), A BRIEF REVIEW ON NONI (MORINDA CITRIFOLIA L.) - A HERBAL REMEDY FOR BETTER HEALTH, Global J Res. Med. Plants & Indigen. Med., Volume 2(5): 337-347

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