Morinda citrifolia L. is a plant growing in almost all tropical areas of the world. The robust plant grows as a shrub or tree depending on conditions of soil and climate. On Polynesian islands and Hawaii, noni plants grow wild as well as in plantations, on beach areas and inland up to a height of 600 m. Flowers and fruits at all phases of ripeness can be observed on the plant all year. Noni plants proliferate very rapidly and bear fruits already in the first year after seeding.
Noni plants are very important in Polynesian folk medicine. Fruits and leaves have been used for more than 2000 years for the treatment of arthritis, to heal wounds, to stop or reduce all kinds of pain as well as to cure many diseases. This tradition is still alive. During the past 10 years, juices prepared from ripe noni fruits became famous as a wellness drink world-wide. In 2003 noni fruit juice was approved as a novel food by the European Commission. No adverse effects of noni juice have been observed in extensive toxicological studies including tissue culture work, animal experiments and a human clinical trial.
.svg)
