Noni Juice isn’t Just for Breakfast Anymore

The noni tree originates in the south pacific, most likely Hawaii, growing in the back lava soil left behind by the Island’s many volcanoes. It can grow up to 30 feet tall, and is related to the coffee tree, being in the Rubiaceae family. It will also grow in shady forests, sandy and rocky shores, saline soils, secondary soils, and limestone outcrops. It is however more common and grows better in the lava soil beds. Today it grows in Tahiti, French Polynesia, Southeast Asia, all of the Pacific Islands, and even in the Dominican Republic.

It has been called the starvation or famine fruit because it quite frankly tastes pretty bad on it’s own. It has a knobby texture on the outside, very similar to that of a pineapple, and a white skin and is shaped like a gourd or heavy white potato. It has been called the Cheese fruit because it gives off an odor like curing cheese when it is ripening. The fruit itself is quite ugly and really doesn’t look like a fruit at all. It has been known by many different names, including the Great Morinda, Indian Mulberry, Mengkudu, Beach Mulberry, Tahitian Noni, and Cheese fruit. Its scientific name is Morinda Citrifolia.

The juice form of this fruit is the most popular. It mixes well with other fruits for a better taste. The fruit itself is full of a lot of seeds and hard to eat, despite having several good vitamins including calcium, Vitamin C, Iron, and Vitamin A. The powdered form of noni has high levels of dietary fiber and carbohydrates. It also contains enough fatty acids, flavanoids, indoids, phytoestrogens, and polysaccharides to be considered one of the healthiest fruits around.

Noni also has trace amounts of beta-sitosterol which is an anti-cholesterol agent. The fruit, leaves, and bark are all used in many health food manufacturers and countries for herbal and natural healing remedies. In China, Samoa, Japan and Tahiti, they use the flowers, fruit, bark, leaves, and roots for herbal remedies that treat or cure fever, eye problems, skin ailments, throat gum maladies, bowel and intestine problems and respiratory malfunctions.

In Malaysia they use poultices from the leaves to stop coughing, colds, lung ailments, asthma and lumbago. The believe that if made right the poultice will heal almost any ailment.

This Queen Fruit or Canoe Fruit as it was named by early Polynesian tribes, traveled with them wherever they went. Because of its healing and health benefits it was one of the things the tribe would consider essential to travel or take with them. They would eat the fruit, drink the juice, use it for medical purposes and save the seeds to plant.