I work at a natural food store; making smoothies and sandwiches. In the smoothies’ menu, there are choices of things you can add. One of the choices is noni juice from the Hawaiian medicinal plant. I only have general knowledge about noni, and so when a customer asks what is it good for, I just answer that it has anti-bacterial properties and it is good for a lot of things. I’ve realized that I don’t even know what that means! After working there for more than two and a half years, it’s about time I give a decent answer to the question, “what exactly is noni good for?” And that is my question of the week.
What is noni?
Noni, a Hawaiian name for Indian Mulberry (morinda citrifolia), is a tropical evergreen plant that has been widely used as medicine by people of Pacific Islands as well as parts of Asia, South America, Caribbean, and Australia.
What are the medicinal properties of noni?
• Some ability to promote immune system activity and to repair damaged cells
• Slow down the growth of the new blood vessels needed for cancer to grow and spread
• May also cause blood vessels in existing tumors to break down
• May increase the effectiveness of certain drugs used to treat cancer
• Mild anti-inflammatory effects, possibly by blocking an enzyme that promotes pain and inflammation
• Anti-bacterial and anti-viral
• May also be effective against other types of parasites that infect humans
…..etc.
*Check out Drug Digest for more information!
What is noni good for?
According to Laau Hawaii: Traditional Hawaiian Uses of Plants by Isabella Aiona Abbott (Bishop Museum Press, 1992), traditionally, the native Hawaiians used all parts of noni plant to treat external wounds such as bruises, boils, sores, skin eruptions, bone breaks, and concussion as well as to dye kapa cloth. It was more recently that noni’s effective element, probably an alkaloid called xeronine, was discovered and taken internally to treat menstrual cramps, arthritis, gastric ulcers, sprains, poor digestion, and problems associated with high blood pressure.
Noni is gaining popularity in western culture to treat cancer, diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol, high blood pressure, HIV, rheumatism, psoriasis, allergies, infection, and inflammation. However, none of these effects are clinically studied in humans.
I could not find any scientific study on noni; what really is it good for. Although there is no scientific evidence to support these effects, it has been used by native Hawaiians and many other native cultures through generations and many people believe in its medicinal properties.
*Other useful links to find out more about noni are ACS and Naturia.
*Pictures are taken from http://www.nonichaihealth.com/pages/what_is_noni.php, and www.noni-cafe.no
No comments:
Post a Comment