wang mian ying 2. Gary anderson university of illinois college of medicine, department of pathology, 1601 parkview avenue, rockford, il 61107, usa 3 department of r amp d, morinda inc, provo, utah 84606, usa 1 noni research projects have been supported by a research grant from morinda, inc. Data in this review paper have partially been presented in national and international scientific meetings and published in their proceedings. 2 correspondence to wang mian ying, md, ms. In order to reveal the nutritional and medicinal value of the noni plant, and to summarize scientific evidence that supports the polynesians' claim, a literature review and recent advances in noni research is given below. Herbal and natural products of folk medicine have been used for centuries in every culture throughout the world. Scientists and medical professionals have shown increased interest in this field as they recognize the true health benefits of these remedies.

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Let food be your medicine and let medicine be your food was advised by the father of medicine, hippocrates, over two millennia ago. Folk medicine in different cultures has a long history of ancestors creating primitive medicines during their struggles against natural calamity and disease. Tea supposedly originated in china, and was discovered to be an antidote for poisonous herbs by a great herbalist, shen nong, about 4700 years ago, when tasting unknown herbs to find plants with medicinal value.

He is generally known as the god of agriculture in china for his great achievements as both a pioneer and a leader in farming. His findings were compiled in a book in the dong han dynasty 25 220 ad called shen nong's herbs, which is still a classic herbal book today. While searching for food, the ancient found that some foods had specific properties of relieving or eliminating certain diseases, and maintaining good health. Among the medicinal plants discovered by the ancestors of polynesians, morinda citrifolia l noni is one of the traditional folk medicinal plants that has been used for over 20 years in polynesia 2. It has been reported to have a broad range of therapeutic and nutritional value 3. literature review and recent advances in noni research an edible and medicinal tropic plant 151 morinda citrifolia l noni the ancestors of polynesians are believed to have brought many plants with them, as food and medicine, when they migrated from southeast asia 20 years ago 4. Of the 12 most common medicinal plants they brought, noni was the second most popular plant used in herbal remedies to treat various common diseases and to maintain overall good health 5.

Noni is the common name for morinda citrifolia l and is also called indian mulberry, ba ji tian. It has been reported to have a broad range of health benefits for cancer, infection, arthritis, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, and pain 6. The polynesians utilized the whole noni plant in their medicinal remedies and dye for some of their traditional clothes.

The roots, stems, bark, leaves, flowers, and fruits of the noni plant are all involved in various combinations in almost 40 known and recorded herbal remedies 7. Additionally, the roots were used to produce a yellow or red dye for tapa cloths and fala mats , while the fruit was eaten for health and food. There are numerous polynesian stories of heroes and heroines that used noni to survive from famine. There is one tale of kamapua'a, the pig god, who loved pele, the volcano goddess. He taunted pele with a chant, i have seen the woman gathering noni /scratching noni/pounding noni. Supposedly, the chant referred to pele's eyes becoming red, and she became so angry that she plunged into battle with him.

A tongan myth tells of the god maui being restored to life by having noni leaves placed on his body 8. morinda citrifolia fruit has a long history of use as a food in tropical regions throughout the world. Written documentation of the consumption of this fruit as a food source precedes the twentieth century. Captain james cook of the british navy noted in the late 1700's that the fruit was eaten in tahiti 9. An 1866 publication in london explained that morinda citrifolia fruit was consumed as a food in the fiji islands 10.

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Later publications describe the use of this fruit as a food throughout the pacific islands, southeast asia, australia, and india. In samoa, noni fruit was common fare, and in burma, the fruit was cooked in curries or eaten raw with salt 12. In 1943, merrill de scribed morinda citrifolia l as an edible plant in a technical manual of edible and poisonous plants of the pacific islands, in which the leaves and fruits could be used as emergency food 13. Abbott also reported that noni had been used as a food, drink, medicine, and colorful dye 14. The medicinal history and accumulated scientific studies, to date, have revealed and confirmed the polynesian's claim of the health benefits of noni. The medical knowledge and pharmacopoeia of the polynesians is now believed to have been fairly complex and modern scientific and medical communities are beginning to study the plants compiled from this knowledge base.

The noni plant is a small evergreen tree found growing in open coastal regions at sea level and in forest areas up to about 1300 feet above sea level. It's identifiable by its straight trunk, large, bright green and elliptical leaves, white tubular flowers, and its distinctive, ovoid, grenade like yellow fruit. The fruit can grow in size up to 12 cm or more and has a lumpy surface covered by polygonal shaped sections. The seeds, which are triangular shaped and reddish brown, have an air sac attached at one end, which makes the seeds buoyant. This could explain, in part, the wide distribution of the plant throughout the polynesian islands. medicinal use of noni plant the polynesians utilized the whole noni plant in various combinations for herbal remedies. The fruit juice is in high demand in alternative medicine for different kinds of illnesses such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, muscle aches and pains, menstrual difficulties, headaches, heart disease, aids, cancers, gastric ulcers, sprains, mental depression, senility, poor digestion, atherosclerosis, blood vessel problems, and drug addiction.

Scientific evidence of the benefits of the noni fruit juice is limited but there is some anecdotal evidence for successful treatment of colds and influenza 16. Isabel abbott, a former botanical chemist at the university of hawaii, stated that, people are crazy about this plant. They use it for diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and many other illnesses 18. Bushnell reported that noni was a traditional remedy used to treat broken bones, deep cuts, bruises, sores, and wounds 19. In addition, polynesians are reported to have successfully used noni to treat breast cancer and eye problems.

Joseph betz, a research chemist in the fda's division of natural products, center for food safety and applied nutrition, stated that morinda citrifolia has been tested for a number of biological activities in animal and anti microbial studies. He reports that the dried fruit has smooth muscle stimulatory activity and histaminergic effects 20. A research group led by chi tang ho at rutgers university in the us is searching for new novel compounds in the noni plant. They have successfully identified several new flavonol glycosides, an iridoid glycoside from the noni leaves, a trisacharide fatty acid ester, rutin, and an asperulosidic acid from the fruit.