Noni or mengkudu is Morinda citrifolia. It is a
shrub of the Rubiaceae family, native from Southeast Asia and Australasia.
From the look of it, it is obvious that mengkudu is a multiple fruit.
It is green when young, and turn yellowish or whitish upon ripening.
Ripened fruit has a strong pungent odour, distasteful for some. Despite
its strong smell and bitter taste, the fruit is nevertheless consumed as a
famine food, in some Pacific islands, as a staple food. The seeds are edible when roasted.
Morinda citrifolia
fruit contains moderate amount of carbohydrate and dietary fibre. It also contains vitamin A, vitamin C,
niacin, iron, potassium, calcium and sodium.
The fruits are studies for its phytochemical compounds :
lignans, oligo- and polysaccharides, flavonoids, iridoids, fatty acids,
scoploetin, catechin, beta-sitosterol, damnacantha, and alkaloids. Although no conclusive evidence of the fruit
on human health, the Polynesian uses the green fuits, leaves and roots to treat
menstrual cramps, bowel irregularities, diabetes, liver diseases and urinal
tract infections.
Brownish-purplish dye is extracted from its bark for
batik-making. In Hawaii, yellowish dye
is extracted from its root.
