Morinda citrifolia Nghiên cứu về cây nhàu

Nghiên cứu tổng quan về cây nhàu, thành phần cấu tạo hóa học, tác dụng và ứng dựng của cây nhàu trong phòng và chữa trị bệnh Noni is an important medicinal plant which has been used for many centuries. The leaves, seeds, bark, green fruit and roots have been used in various topical remedies in diverse parts of the South Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. The use of the juice from the ripe and unripe fruit seems to be a more recent innovation, which has been amply exploited commercially in recent times (FughBerman, 2003; Wiart, 2002).

Noni

Photo © Steven Foster

Morinda citrifolia L.

Text by Armando González Stuart, Ph.D., 2005

Botanical family: Rubiaceae

Other common names: Morinda, Indian mulberry, Piña de puerco

Medicinal parts: The whole plant

History

Noni is an important medicinal plant which has been used for many centuries The leaves, seeds, bark, green fruit and roots have been used in various topical remedies in diverse parts of the South Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia The use of the juice from the ripe and unripe fruit seems to be a more recent innovation, which has been amply exploited commercially in recent times (Fugh-Berman, 2003; Wiart, 2002)

This evergreen shrub or small tree (up to 9 meters tall) is originally from Southeast Asia, but has been naturalized in many other regions, such as Latin America (including the Caribbean) and Australia (Gurib-Fakim and Brendler, 2004; Fugh-Berman, 2003; Wiart, 2002)

Even though the fruit is considered palatable, it reportedly possesses a rancid “cheesy” flavor and odor due to its content of carboxylic acids (Fugh-Berman, 2003; Duke et al., 2002)

The fruit has been used in various parts of the world to feed pigs, hence the Spanish

common name of piña de puerco or “hog pineapple” (Fugh-Berman, 2003)

Active Principles

• According to commercial literature on noni, the fruit contains an alkaloid (or

“protoalkaloid”) known as xeronine, which purportedly is responsible for much of

its proposed therapeutic activity, although no mention of this compound currently exists in the scientific literature (Bratman and Girman, 2003; Fugh-Berman, 2003)

• Noni contains a great variety of active constituents including

3,3’-bisdemethylpinoresinol, americanol A, americanin A, americanoic acid A,

morindolin, and isoprincepin The last two are novel compounds The fruit also contains various anthaquinones, including damnacanthal (Gurib-Fakim and Brendler, 2004; Kamiya et al., 2004; Shotripuk et al., 2004; Stalman et al., 2003; Wiart, )

• The compounds before mentioned inhibited copper-induced LDL oxidation in a dose-dependent manner The activity of these compounds is due mainly to their number of phenolic hydroxyl groups and may be useful in the treating or

preventing arteriosclerosis (Kamiya et al., 2004)

• Certain active compounds present in the plant may have value in combating cancer, but further controlled clinical research in humans is necessary before concluding its effectiveness (Wong, 2004; McClatchey, 2002)

Applications in Herbal Medicine

• All parts of the plant are employed to treat dysentery (Gurib-Fakim and Brendler, 2004; Wiart, 2002)

• The leaves are used to treat coughs, nausea and colic, possibly due to its anti-inflammatory activity (Gurib-Fakim and Brendler, 2004; Wiart, 2002)

• The ripe fruits are taken to treat asthma, diabetes, reduce blood pressure and promote menstruation (Gurib-Fakim and Brendler, 2004; Wiart, 2002)

• The leaves have also been used to treat gout, tuberculosis and ringworm In the Philippines, the seeds are eaten in order to expel intestinal worms This plant has also been popular as a source of red, yellow and purple dyes (Gurib-Fakim and Brendler, 2004; Wiart, 2002)

• Noni or Morinda is reputed to have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antitumor, antihelminthic, analgesic, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory, and immune enhancing effects (Duke et al., 2002; McClatchey, 2002; Wang et al., 2002; Liu et al., 2001; Wang and Su, 2001)

• Originally, the leaves were applied directly to the skin to treat ulcerations and minor infections Some multilevel marketing companies have proposed that drinking noni juice can be used against a very wide variety of ailments

Unfortunately, very few, if any, of these claims have been substantiated by

clinical evidence in humans (Bratman and Girman, 2003; Fugh-Berman, 2003)

• Unfortunately, much of the information available, especially on the internet is mainly of interest Scientific information about the therapeutic effects of noni on humans is currently limited (Suarez-Almazor et al., 2001)

Clinical Studies with Noni

As has been mentioned before, clinical trials in humans using noni are currently

unknown Most of the clinical studies with this plant have been undertaken either in vitro

or in laboratory animals (Wang, 2001)

An amount corresponding to10% noni juice in media effectively inhibited capillary initiation in explants from human breast tumors In tumor explants which did show capillary sprouting, the vessels rapidly degenerated (2-3 days) in those exposed to media supplemented with 10% noni juice (Hornick et al., 2003)

Noni leaves have recently been found to contain novel compounds including iridoids, which may have a role in its medicinal activity, including the prospective treatment of cancer, as well as other diseases (Sang et al., 2003)

An immunomodulatory polysaccharide-rich substance (Noni-ppt) contained in noni fruit juice has been found to have both prophylactic and therapeutic application potential against the immunomodulator sensitive Sarcoma 180 tumor system (Furusawa et al., 2003)

This same substance (noni-ppt) had antitumor activity in the Lewis lung (LLC) peritoneal carcinomatosis model Therapeutic administration of noni-ppt significantly augmented the duration of survival of inbred syngeneic LLC tumor bearing mice These findings suggest an important clinical application of noni-ppt as a supplemental agent in cancer treatment (Hirazumi and Furusawa, 1999)

Studies in mice employing noni fruit juice have shown prevention of carcinogen-DNA adduct formation, as well as antioxidant activity, which may contribute to the prospective cancer preventive effect of this plant (Wang and Su, 2001)

Noni juice extracted from the fruit contains two novel glycosides,

6-O-(beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-1-O-octanoyl-beta-D-glucopyranose and asperulosidic acid, which were employed in order to examine their effects on 12-O-tedtradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) - and epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced AP-1 transactivation and cell

transformation in epidermal JB6 cells in mice The results indicated that both of these compounds were effective in suppressing TPA- or EGF-induced cell transformation and related AP-1 activity (Liu et al., 2001)

Powder made from the fruit of Morinda citrifolia has exhibited inhibition of

cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), which may explain why this plant has been used in Asian traditional medicine for the treatment of various inflammatory conditions(Li et al., 2003)

Some of the active principles contained in noni possess pronounced antitubercular

activity, which explains its use in Asian traditional medicine for the treatment of

tuberculosis (Saludes et al., 2002)

Some of the active constituents contained in noni may have an application in the

treatment of malaria (Ancolio et al., 2002)

Safety/Precautions

• Ingestion of the juice is considered to be safe, although no toxicological studies

on noni are currently known (Gruenwald, 2004)

• As a precaution, avoid ingesting products containing noni during pregnancy and lactation, as well as by small children, since the effects of this plant have not been studied in depth (Skidmore-Roth, 2003)

• There is one case reported of noni juice purportedly causing coumadin resistance

in a 41 year old woman taking the medication plus an unknown amount of the herbal supplement The supplement containing noni juice also contained a variety

of other compounds including vitamin K It is unknown whether the juice itself

or its vitamin content may have accounted for the interaction (Carr et al., 2004)

• Some products containing noni juice may have high amounts of potassium, which may cause hyperkalemia in susceptible individuals (Mueller et al., 2000)

• Due to the purported disagreeable taste of noni fruit, some manufacturers of the noni juice also add variable amounts of other fruit juices, such as grape or orange, for example, in order to make the product more palatable Since some of these juices may also be high in various sugars, it is advisable that diabetic patients consult with a health professional before taking this product

Potential Herb/Drug Interactions

• Unknown

• As a precaution, avoid taking noni juice containing potassium along with

potassium-sparing diuretics (Bratman and Girman, 2003)

Literature Cited

Ancolio C, Azas N, Mahiou V, Ollivier E, Di Giorgio C, Keita A, Timon-David P,

Balansard G Antimalarial activity of extracts and alkaloids isolated from six plants used

in traditional medicine in Mali and Sao Tome Phytother Res 2002; 16(7):646-9

Bratman S, Girman A Handbook of Herbs and Supplements and their Therapeutic Uses

St Louis: Mosby; 2003; pp 769-771

Carr ME, Klotz J, Bergeron M Coumadin resistance and the vitamin supplement "Noni"

Am J Hematol 2004; 77(1):103

Duke J, Bogenschutz M, Duke P Handbook of Medicinal Plants 2 nd ed Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2002; p.529

Fugh-Berman A The 5 Minute Herbal and Dietary Supplement Consult Philadelphia: Lippincott; 2003; pp 236-237

Furusawa E, Hirazumi A, Story S, Jensen J Antitumour potential of a

polysaccharide-rich substance from the fruit juice of Morinda citrifolia (Noni) on sarcoma 180 ascites

tumour in mice Phytother Res 2003;17(10):1158-64

Gruenwald J PDR for Herbal Medicines 3 rd ed Montvale, NJ: Thomson PDR; 2004; pp.592-593

Gurib-Fakeem A, Brendler T Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the Indian Ocean

Islands Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2004; pp 331-332

Hirazumi A, Furusawa E An immunomodulatory polysaccharide-rich substance from the fruit juice of Morinda citrifolia (noni) with antitumour activity Phytother Res 1999;

13(5):380-7

Hornick CA, Myers A, Sadowska-Krowicka H, Anthony CT, Woltering EA Inhibition of angiogenic initiation and disruption of newly established human vascular networks by

juice from Morinda citrifolia (noni) Angiogenesis 2003;6(2):143-9

Jagetia GC, Baliga MS The evaluation of nitric oxide scavenging activity of certain

Indian medicinal plants in vitro: a preliminary study J Med Food 2004; 7(3):343-8

Kamiya K, Tanaka Y, Endang H, Umar M, Satake T Chemical constituents of Morinda

citrifolia fruits inhibit copper-induced low-density lipoprotein oxidation J Agric Food

Chem 2004;52(19):5843-8

Li RW, Myers SP, Leach DN, Lin GD, Leach G A cross-cultural study:

anti-inflammatory activity of Australian and Chinese plants J Ethnopharmacol 2003;

85(1):25-32

Liu G, Bode A, Ma WY, Sang S, Ho CT, Dong Z Two novel glycosides from the fruits

of Morinda citrifolia (noni) inhibit AP-1 transactivation and cell transformation in the

mouse epidermal JB6 cell line Cancer Res 2001; 61(15):5749-56

McClatchey W From Polynesian healers to health food stores: changing perspectives of

Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae) Integr Cancer Ther 2002;1(2):110-20

Mueller BA, Scott MK, Sowinski KM, Prag KA Noni juice (Morinda citrifolia): hidden

potential for hyperkalemia? Am J Kidney Dis 2000;35(2):310-2

Saludes JP, Garson MJ, Franzblau SG, Aguinaldo AM Antitubercular constituents from

the hexane fraction of Morinda citrifolia Linn (Rubiaceae) Phytother Res 2002;

16(7):683-5

Sang S, Liu G, He K, Zhu N, Dong Z, Zheng Q, Rosen RT, Ho CT New unusual iridoids

from the leaves of noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) show inhibitory effect on ultraviolet

B-induced transcriptional activator protein-1 (AP-1) activity Bioorg Med Chem 2003;

(12):2499-502

Shotipruk A, Kiatsongserm J, Pavasant P, Goto M, Sasaki M.Pressurized hot water

extraction of anthraquinones from the roots of Morinda citrifolia Biotechnol Prog 2004;

20(6):1872-5

Skidmore-Roth L Handbook of Herbs and Natural Supplements 2 nd ed

St Louis: Mosby; 2003; pp 670-671

Stalman M, Koskamp AM, Luderer R, Vernooy JH, Wind JC, Wullems GJ, Croes AF

Regulation of anthraquinone biosynthesis in cell cultures of Morinda citrifolia

J Plant Physiol 2003;160(6):607-14

Suarez-Almazor ME, Kendall CJ, Dorgan M Surfing the Net information on the World

Wide Web for persons with arthritis: patient empowerment or patient deceit?

J Rheumatol 2001 Jan;28(1):185-91

Wang MY, West BJ, Jensen CJ, Nowicki D, Su C, Palu AK, Anderson G Morinda

citrifolia (Noni): a literature review and recent advances in Noni research Acta

Pharmacol Sin 2002; 23(12):1127-41

Wang MY, Su C Cancer preventive effect of Morinda citrifolia (Noni) Ann N Y Acad

Sci 2001; 952:161-8

Wiart C Medicinal Plants of Southeast Asia 2 nd ed Selangor, Malaysia: Prentice-Hall; 2002; pp 292-293

Wong DK Are immune responses pivotal to cancer patient's long term survival? Two clinical case-study reports on the effects of Morinda citrifolia (Noni) Hawaii Med J

2004; 63(6):182-4