Possible medical uses for the noni tree

Morinda citrifolia is a small evergreen tree or shrub in the Rubiaceae family. Although native to south-east Asia and Australia it is now found throughout the tropics and has acquired a range of alternative names. Canary wood in Australia, kikiri in the Solomon Islands, nono in Tahiti, dog dumpling in the West Indies and noni in Hawaii are just a few examples.

The plant bears flowers and fruit all year round. The fruit is shaped like a hand grenade and turns yellow and then almost white as it ripens. It has a bitter taste and a pungent odour when ripe — hence another common name, vomit fruit.

The unripe fruit is used as a staple food on some Pacific islands and cooked in curries in south-east Asia but elsewhere it is known as “starvation food”.

Commercially known as noni, the plant has attained significant economic importance through a variety of health and cosmetic products made from its leaves and fruits. Although most of their indications have yet to be scientifically supported, some preliminary research suggests that noni may have antioxidant, immune-stimulating and tumour-fighting properties. Damnacanthal, an anthraquinone found in noni root, is known to be a highly potent, selective inhibitor of p56lck tyrosine kinase activity and the US National Cancer Institute is currently funding research into noni’s potential use in preventing and treating breast cancer.

Although its safety has not been well studied, noni has few reported side effects and this traditional medicine is still important to many of the people of the Pacific islands. For many centuries they have used the roots, stems, bark, leaves, flowers and fruits of the noni plant to treat a number of conditions ranging from nausea and period pain to asthma and tuberculosis. Noni is also traditionally used as a “ghost medicine” based on the belief that ghosts are repelled by the fruit’s odour.