Noni

This article covers the noni tree. For the Italian opera singer, see Alda Noni . For the asteroid, see (2382) Nonie .

Noni tree
Noni tree ( Morinda citrifolia )
Systematics
Asterids Euasterids I Order : Enzianartige (Gentianales) Family : Red family (Rubiaceae) Genre : Morinda Type : Noni tree
Scientific name
Morinda citrifolia
L.

The Nonibaum ( Morinda citrifolia L. , Syn .: Morinda bracteata Roxb. ) Is a plant of the genus Morinda within the family Rubiaceae (Rubiaceae). The noni is the fruit of the noni tree. In English there is the common name "Indian mulberry", this is sometimes rendered as "Indian mulberry bush" or "Indian mulberry tree".

description

illustration

Branch with leaves, inflorescence and fruits

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The noni tree grows as an evergreen , smaller tree or shrub about 5–10 meters high. The younger branches are angular, ribbed and bare.

Its bald, leathery, somewhat stiff and opposite, ovate to elliptical, lanceolate or obovate and short-stalked leaves are simple. The quite large, entire and shiny leaves are 15–40 centimeters long. The whitish nerve is alternately pinnate. There are smaller stipules present.

The fragrant, distyled flowers with a fleshy, four- to hexagonal flower cup are in axillary and short-stalked heads , tufts together. The hermaphroditic and five- to six-fold flowers with a double flower envelope are white. The calyx is usually fused into a blunt, entire, small ring. There may be small bracts or "calycophylls" (enlarged sepals). The mostly bare petals are fused with a salver plate, with a greenish corolla tube and with recessed, thick and internally keeled and ovoid, white tips. There is only a circle of stamen in the corolla tube, sometimes hairy in the throat, the stamens with elongated anthers are enclosed or slightly protruding. Two carpels have become an under constant ovary grown. The more or less long, usually above stylus carries a two-lobed, -ästige scar .

The noni fruit is a fruit cluster made of stone fruits and is about 6-12 centimeters tall. When ripe it is greenish-yellowish to whitish, egg-shaped to elongated, soft and smelly. The fruits are smooth, slightly wrinkled and more or less square to hexagonal, as well as dotted with the many round, wart-shaped calyx remains. The small, brownish stone cores are egg-shaped and solitary, up to about 1 centimeter long and they contain air chambers. The seeds lie in a whitish, juicy and transparent pulp. The taste and smell of the ripe fruit is similar to that of hand cheese or Gorgonzola cheese with a slight spiciness, so it is sometimes perceived as unpleasant.

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 44.

Distribution and growing areas

Morinda citrifolia was probably originally native to the Australian state of Queensland . From there it spread both over the Indian Ocean and into the Polynesian islands. Polynesian sailors brought it to Hawaii over 2000 years ago , where it became known as "Noni". Today the plant can also be found in many coastal regions of Central America and West India as well as on Madagascar .

The marketing

Noni is mainly offered on the market as a fruit juice drink (noni juice) and is widely distributed via network marketing . Health-promoting properties based on pseudoscientific claims are given as an argument in favor of the consumption of noni juice .

Despite the smell of rotten cheese when ripe, the fruits are eaten raw or prepared in various ways. They are also made into a sugared drink.

Legal situation in the EU

Noni products are considered to be novel foods that require approval according to the Novel Food Regulation. According to this, the manufacturer or supplier must prove that a food newly offered on the European market does not pose any health risks to the consumer. This only includes the confirmation of the harmlessness of the product for the consumer and not the proof of health effectiveness. In 2001 the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices issued a provisional ban on noni juice due to the ineffectiveness of the product. In 2003 the European Commission finally approved the placing on the market of noni juice (juice made from the fruit of the species Morinda citrifolia L.). Sales conditions included the pasteurization of the drink and the waiver of advertising claims that assume that the product has a health-promoting effect. According to Directive 2000/13 / EC, the designation "Noni juice" or "Morinda citrifolia juice" must appear on the label of the product itself or in the list of ingredients of the fruit juice drinks that contain the product.

Even after the approval of the Nonisaftes "Tahitian Noni" as food ( "Novel Food") is after the food law advertising prohibited health claims for healing and alleviation of disease due to non-proven effectiveness. In addition, this approval only applies to the applicant's products listed therein. Other products (including noni juice from other manufacturers) must be submitted separately for approval. A list of the noni juice products approved in the EU is published on the Commission's website - constantly updated.

Since 2008, noni leaves have also been approved as novel food. On April 21, 2010, the European Commission also granted novel food approval for noni puree and non-concentrate.

According to the EU Health Claims Regulation, information on health-related properties such as "strengthens the immune system", "lowers cholesterol" or "supports joint functions" may only be given if they are listed as a "claim" in a list (community register ) and are therefore approved for a food or a food ingredient.

Medicinal effect

The juice is believed by its proponents to have many health-promoting and healing effects. An active ingredient called xeronine is responsible for this. However, this is unknown in medical and pharmaceutical science. The range of uses for the juice ranges from diabetes and arthritis to depression and obesity to cancer.

In fact, there is no scientifically proven evidence of the advertised effects . For use in the treatment of diseases with Noni products, approval as a medicinal product is required by law, which does not exist within the European Union for any of the alleged effects.

The US supervisory authority for food and drug safety FDA has already issued several warnings to companies that advertise noni products with medicinal or health-promoting effects. Such advertising is prohibited because no noni product is approved as a drug in the United States.

The Austrian test magazine Konsument reported in 2005 on three cases of severe liver inflammation after taking noni juice. This report was contradicted by the manufacturing company, which listed various reasons why the noni juice was not responsible for the liver damage.

In addition to the clearance certificate published by the EU Scientific Committee on Foods (SCF) in 2003, the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) published its own research report in which a connection between the consumption of Tahitian Noni Juice and liver toxicity is denied ( "A hepatotoxic effect from the product described above is not understandable based on the currently available knowledge." ).

In two scientific publications from 2005, three cases of acute liver inflammation (hepatitis) were described, which could be related to the consumption of noni juices. According to these reports, the French food authority Agence française de sécurité sanitaire (AFSSA) issued a warning to consumers in October 2005 not to take more than 30 ml of noni juice per day. In Germany, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) examined a case of liver inflammation after consuming noni juice in early 2006.

For its part, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) initiated a review process to determine whether the cases that have occurred require a re-evaluation with regard to food safety. On September 6, 2006, she published her investigation report, which states that the consumption of Tahitian Noni Juice is safe ( “On the basis of the available toxicological information […] the Panel considers it unlikely that consumption of noni juice, at the observed levels of intake, induces adverse human liver effects. " ). It is emphasized that the examination referred exclusively to possible liver damage and no statements are made about the medical effectiveness of the product. However, after the EFSA's opinion was published, cases of liver failure after consumption of noni juice were repeatedly reported.

Conclusion

In a letter published in December 2002, the scientific committee for food in the EU considers noni juice in the quantities offered to be acceptable, but also states that the claims and information on noni provide no evidence of any particular health-promoting effects of "noni juice" go beyond that of other fruit juices. The Federal Office of Public Health in Switzerland agrees with this assessment by the EU , where any health-promoting promotions in connection with noni juice are also not permitted. Health claims are prohibited in both the EU and Switzerland.

Further use

With the roots of the noni tree, red tones are achieved in the dyeing of the traditional fabrics of Timor ( Tais ).

literature

• Claus-Peter Leonhardt : Noni. The fruit of the Indian mulberry tree. 8th edition. Goldmann Verlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-442-16301-3 .
• G. Millonig, S. Stadlmann, W. Vogel: Herbal hepatotoxicity: acute hepatitis caused by a Noni preparation (Morinda citrifolia). In: European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 17, 2005, pp. 445-447.
• V. Stadlbauer, P. Fickert, C. Lackner, J. Schmerlaib, P. Krisper, M. Trauner, RE Stauber: Hepatotoxicity of NONI juice: Report of two cases. In: World Journal of Gastroenterology. 11, 2005, pp. 4758-4760.
• H. Khurana, M. Junkrut, T. Punjanon: Analgesic activity and genotoxicity of Morinda citrifolia. In: Thai J. Pharmacol. 25 (1), 2003, p. 86.
• Matthias M. Werner: Noni. The manual for users, doctors and naturopaths . Books On Demand, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-89811-601-8 .
• Johannes Westendorf, Cornelia Mettlich: Noni Morinda citrifolia: Old knowledge and new knowledge. Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-00-027815-0 .

Web links

Commons : Noni tree ( Morinda citrifolia ), images often incorrect, from Morinda pubescens  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Noni in crops database.
• Worldwide names for the Noni tree ( Morinda citrifolia ) at CTAHR Hawaii (English).
• Morinda citrifolia at Useful Tropical Plants.
• Official Journal of the European Union: Commission decision authorizing the placing on the market of “Noni juice” as a novel food ingredient (PDF) , June 5, 2003.
• Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission: Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food on Tahitian Noni® juice (PDF; 234 kB), December 4th of 2002.
• Pharmaceutical newspaper : Questionable magic fruit from the South Seas from October 1, 2001.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Morinda citrifolia at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
2. ↑ European Commission: Novel Foods - Introduction
3. ↑ European Food Safety Authority EFSA: EFSA confirms the safety of noni leaves for tea.
4. ↑ Umwelt Online: Decision 2010/228 / EU of the Commission of April 21, 2010 on the authorization of the placing on the market of puree and concentrate from fruits of Morinda citrifolia as a novel food ingredient according to Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 of the European Parliament and of Rates.
5. ↑ VO (EU) No. 432/2012 - PDF. (PDF)
6. ↑ EU Register of nutrition and health claims made on foods .
7. ^ Medizin-transparent.at: Noni: Lazy promises from the South Seas . (July 2018. Accessed May 28, 2020)
8. ^ Food and Drug Administration : Warning letter, August 26, 2004 - PDF. ( Memento from November 10, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
9. ↑ Food and Drug Administration : Warning letter, August 29, 2004 ( Memento of November 10, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
10. ^ Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety : AGES comments on Noni juice ("Tahitian Noni Juice") , September 20, 2006.
11. ^ Agence française de sécurité sanitaire : Communiqué: Relatif au Jus de Noni ( Memento of October 19, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF), October 13, 2005.
12. ↑ Federal Institute for Risk Assessment : Can noni juices damage your health? March 6, 2006 (PDF; 103 kB)
13. ↑ European Food Safety Authority : EFSA re-assesses safety of noni juice , September 6, 2006
    European Food Safety Authority / BfR : EFSA reassesses the safety of noni juice (PDF; 24 kB), September 6, 2006.
14. ↑ European Food Safety Authority : Opinion on a request from the Commission related to the safety of noni juice (juice of the fruits of Morinda citrifolia) (PDF), September 1, 2006.
15. ↑ Vanessa Stadlbauer, Sabine Weiss, Franz Payer, Rudolf E Stauber: Herbal Does Not At All Mean Innocuous: The Sixth Case of Hepatotoxicity Associated With Morinda Citrifolia (Noni) . In: The American Journal of Gastroenterology . tape 103 , no. 9 , September 2008, ISSN  1572-0241 , p. 2406–2407 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1572-0241.2008.02010_8.x .
16. ↑ Elizabeth L Yu, Mamata Sivagnanam, Linda Ellis, Jeannie S Huang: Acute Hepatotoxicity After Ingestion of Morinda citrifolia (Noni Berry) Juice in a 14-year-old Boy . In: Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition . tape 52 , no. 2 , p. 222–224 , doi : 10.1097 / mpg.0b013e3181eb69f0 ( content.wkhealth.com [accessed March 10, 2018]).
17. ↑ Anna Mrzljak, Iva Kosuta, Anita Skrtic, Tajana Filipec Kanizaj, Radovan Vrhovac: Drug-Induced Liver Injury Associated with Noni (Morinda citrifolia) Juice and Phenobarbital . In: Case Reports in Gastroenterology . tape 7 , no. 1 , 2013, ISSN  1662-0631 , p. 19–24 , doi : 10.1159 / 000343651 ( karger.com [accessed March 10, 2018]).
18. ^ Wojciech Waldman, Grazyna Piotrowicz, Jacek Sein Anand: [Hepatoxic effect of a noni juice consumption - a case report] . In: Przeglad Lekarski . tape 70 , no. 8 , 2013, ISSN  0033-2240 , p. 690-692 , PMID 24466723 .
19. ^ Page no longer available , search in web archives: European Commission, Scientific Committee on Food, December 11, 2002
20. ^ Federal Office of Public Health ( Memento from July 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
21. ↑ Tais Timor-Leste: About Tais ( Memento of the original from August 30, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed on August 29, 2017. 
22. ↑ Interview with the author on YouTube.