Noni – Health Benefits, Uses, and Side Effects

Noni is a small evergreen tree found in India, Australia, Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands. It belongs to Rubeaceae family.

Noni juice is mostly used in the cases of cancer, prevent infections, treatment of high blood pressure etc.

It is used to reduce the pain levels, cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

• Latin Name – Morinda citrifolia
• English names – Indian Mulberry, Hog apple, Ice leaf
• Sanskrit name – Ashyuka, Akshi, Atchy

Parts used and their Actions

Noni fruit, leaves, flowers, stems, bark, and roots are used to make medicine for a long list of ailments.

Fruit – Emmenagogue, Antileucorrhoeic, Antidysenteric, Anticatarrhal (used in throat infections and asthma).

Root and leaf – Cathartic, Febrifuge, Anti-inflammatory (used in gout).

Root – Anticongestive, Hypotensive.

Health Benefits of Noni

• The ethanolic extract of noni shows Chemoprotective activity for protection from kidney damage. Its histopathological study shows nephroprotective activity.

• Ethanolic extract of the plant showed significant antimicrobial activity.

• It improves the hearing sense.

• It helps to maintain healthy level of blood pressure.

• It increases the physical activity endurance power.

• It helps to reduce the anxiety and work really well in depression cases.

• The lyophilized aqueous extract of roots possesses analgesic property.

• Noni juice helps in the treatment of osteoarthritis. It reduces the need for pain reliever medications and can drastically improve the quality of patient’s life.

• Antitumor activity – Its juice is really useful to improve survival time and curative effects on cancer.

• Antipsychotic activity – It helps to improve the social behavior.

• It has shown significant results in the treatment of depression and anxiety.

• Noni juice shows neuroprotective effects in case of brain damage.

• Antioxidant activity Noni juice has shown to significantly increase anti-oxidant enzyme levels in the body.

• It helps in reducing the signs of ageing.

• It is very helpful in Urinary problems.

• Noni juice also showed a preventive effect against anemia, lymphocytosis and Neutrophilia.

• Antimicrobial activity – Powder form of extracts of Noni leaves increases the growth inhibition activity of some microbes in the body. The use of solvent extracts of Noni leaves is effective in the treatment of infectious disease.

• Improvement of joint pain and mobility – Topical treatment of pain and bruising is one of the important uses of noni plant.

• Antifungal activity – Methanolic extract of the dried Noni fruit exhibited maximum percentage of inhibition against fungal infections.

• Antiviral activity

• It may protect the heart by and reduce the chances of heart diseases. Noni fruit and leaf extracts help to reduce the blood pressure.

• Anti-inflammatory effect – A study concludes that Noni juice selectively inhibits cyclo-oxygenase enzymes involved in breast, colon and lung cancer and shows anti-inflammatory activity.

• Noni plant preparations are useful for weight management. Multiple animal studies have demonstrated the anti-obesity potential of noni juice.

Inada A.C., Figueiredo P.S., Santos-Eichler R.A.D., Freitas K.C., Hiane P.A., Castro A.P., Guimarães C.A. Morinda citrifolia Linn. (Noni) and its potential in obesity-related metabolic dysfunction. Nutrients. 2017;9 doi: 10.3390/nu9060540. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]

• Hypoglycemic activity – fermented juice of noni has shown hypoglycemic activities in diabetes patients. A decrease level of fasting glucose was shown.

• A decoction is given to regulate menstruation.

• In ancient times, women used to eat the unripe noni fruit, roots or leaves to manage the pain from menstrual cramps. Also it showed no effe t on the flow and health of bleeding.

• It supports the skin health. its extracts and juices are applied on the skin to reduce acne, inflammation etc.

• Effect on lung cancer – showed significant inhibitory effects on the proliferation of human lung and colon cancer cells.

• Effect on esophageal cancer – It shows both preventive and curative effects on esophageal cancer.

• Effect on breast cancer – Noni juice shows significant diminution in tumor weight, size of the tumor.

• Noni juice is used for treatment of cervical cancer. Effect on cognitive function.

• Wound healing activity – Its leaf extract is found to possess wound healing activity.

• Effect on Alzheimer’s disease – It shows neuroprotective actions in the cases of memory loss.

• It shows sedative activity without any kind of toxic effects.

• It was shown in a research that consumption of noni juice reduces the nauseatic feeling after a surgery.

• It also shows effective results in digestion related problems, constipation, and colics.

• It also shows magnificent results in Migraine and seizures.

• It is also helpful in the treatment of small pox.

Therapeutic uses

The use of bark for the treatment of:

• Bacterial infections
• Cough
• Diarrhea in infants
• Stomach ailments

The use of flowers for:

• Sore or irritated eyes
• Styes
• Conjunctivitis
• Ocular inflammation
• Coughs

The use of fruit for:

• Asthma
• Wounds
• Broken bones
• Mouth and throat infections
• Tuberculosis
• Worms
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Vomiting
• Eye ailments
• Arthritis
• Depression
• Seizures
• Bacterial and fungal infections

The use of fresh fruit juice for:

• Cancer

The dried leaves used externally for: 

• Infections
• Burns
• Children’s chest colds and inflammation,

The dried leaves used internally for:

• Boils
• Pleurisy
• Inflamed gums
• Arthritic pain

The fresh leaves used externally for:

• Burns

The fresh leaves used internally for: 

• Fevers
• Hemorrhage
• Bacterial infections
• Inflammation

The roots are used for:

• Oral ulcerations
• Fevers
• Cancerous swellings.

Side Effects of Noni

• Pregnant women are asked to avoid the use of noni because of its history in abortions.

• Lactating mothers are also advised to avoid the use of noni.

• The use of noni juice can cause diarrhea in some cases.

• Its use can be harmful in the case of kidney disorders as it contains large amounts of potassium.

• It is advised not to use Noni in case of Liver diseases as it has history of liver damage complications.

• It can also cause liver toxicity.