Noni: Our Ancestor’s Recipe for Health and Vitality Part 1

The knowledge that our ancestors had concerning medicinal plants is irrefutable and one can not deny the fact that they knew what type of medicinal plants to use for which ailments. It has been my privileged at Tahitian Noni International Inc. to study the mechanisms of not only “how” but also “why” Noni works for various ailments at the molecular level. The array of scientific evidences, published and/or presented in professional scientific meetings, convinces me that our ancestors were ethnobotanists of a higher order. An order that is far advanced than majority of the modern scientists today is willing to give them credit for.

During our ancestors’ navigation across the Pacific Ocean, they carried with them certain plants for dyeing of traditional clothes, food and medicine currently now known to us as “canoe plants.” One of the canoe plants that they took with them in their kalia (canoe) was Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.). The efficacy of Noni has been debated much mainly by those who knew little or none about its traditional usage as well as the scientific studies and the mechanisms behind it. Yet others have gone as far as saying that there are no scientific studies to support our ancestors’ claim about the efficacy of Noni. However, let the scientific evidences presented heretofore not only support the efficacy of Noni but also to vindicate the claim made by our illustrious ancestors who had given us so much.

Once again we ask the question, how did they know that Noni works for various ailments? Perhaps parts of the answers lie in the fact that “it works” according to my mother--who was a healer. The other part perhaps comes from the scientific studies that had been done on Noni by TNI and other scientists around the world. These scientific evidences will shed more light into our ancestor’s claims made long ago, thus dispelling the notion that Noni does not have any medicinal health benefits.

Our ancestors claimed that Noni fruit juice would help ameliorate type 2 diabetic conditions. They had treated several hundreds of diabetic patients and witnessed first hand the health benefits in what will be considered unscientific, limited human clinical trials in our day. What scientific evidences do we have to support such a claim? We have discovered several pathways in which Noni can help ameliorate diabetic type2 conditions. First, I discovered that Tahitian Noni fruit juice and TAHITIAN NONI® Juice have anti-PDE3 effects (TNI Patent Pending) which will ameliorate diabetic type2 conditions. PDE3 activities in the -cells are much higher in diabetic patients compared to normal. Hence, inhibiting PDE3 enzymes will increase insulin secretion, which leads to improvements in the diabetic conditions. Second, I also discovered that Tahitian Noni fruit juice and TAHITIAN NONI® Juice also have anti-PTP1effects (TNI Patent Pending). PTP1is a negative regulator of insulin secretion and it is highly active in diabetic patients. Hence, inhibiting of PTP1 will lead to increases in insulin secretion and consequently improving your health. Third, we collaborated with Drs. Tani & Ohishi from Japan in two studies investigating the effects of Tahitian Noni leaf juice extract in a rat diabetic type2 model and in a limited human clinical trial. The results from the rat diabetic type2 model not only showed that there is no toxicity in the Tahitian Noni leaf extracts but also showed that it controlled the rises in blood sugar level when administered orally. The results from the human study showed that the leaf extracts caused a significant drop of about 23 percent in the blood sugar level in diabetic type2 patients. Fourth, I discovered that Tahitian Noni fruit juice and TAHITIAN NONI® Juice have anti-Aldose Reductase effects (TNI Patent Pending). Aldose Reductase enzymes are highly active in the eyes of diabetic patients which is one of the major contributors to diabetic retinopathy. Hence, inhibiting of the enzymes Aldose Reductase will help improve the condition in diabetic retinopathy.

Another claim that our ancestors made was-Noni helps lower your high blood pressure. What scientific evidences do we have to support such a claim? I discovered that Tahitian Noni fruit juice concentrate (TNFJC) and TAHITIAN NONI® Juice (TNJ) have an inhibitory effect on Angiotensin Converting Enzymes (TNI Patent Pending). Angiotensin Converting Enzymes are highly active in high blood pressure patients compare to normal. Hence, inhibiting of this enzyme will ameliorate high blood pressure and the complications thereof. I also discovered that TNFJC and TNJ both bind to and inhibit AT1 and AT2 receptors, which are part of the Angiotensin signaling pathways, in a dose dependant fashion. This enzymes and receptors are some of the targets used by pharmaceutical companies in synthesizing drugs that will help in reducing high blood pressure.

Though only a few of the scientific evidences listed here, it is only a glimpse of the repertoire of what Noni does for our health and vitality that we have discovered at TNI and other researchers around the world. Our ancestors knew that Noni works for various ailments otherwise they would not have wasted their time carrying them across the Pacific Ocean in their canoes and from islands to islands during their navigational years long ago. I am grateful to the traditional healing practices passed on from my mother Silivia Latai Tulaki To’angutu Palu, my grandmother Mele’ana Fehi’osi To’angutu from ‘Uiha, Ha’apai and to the rest of my Polynesian ancestors from the South Pacific. Thank you for the gift of the Noni. I salute and honor you all.