Noni: A Lava-Loving Plant with a Rich History and Nutritional Profile

A second similar trial was completed but with some modifications [42]. This trial equally divided 46 university athletes as well as 14 non-athlete controls into a TNJ group and a blackberry juice group. For 30 days, these athletes drank 100 mL TNJ or blackberry juice twice per day. This trial also included pre- and post-intervention time-to-fatigue treadmill tests, with accompanying blood analyses. The TNJ group experienced a significant decrease in mean serum creatine kinase (CK) concentration, while no such decline occurred in the blackberry juice group. This finding suggests that the improvement in endurance is a result of the ability of TNJ to mitigate exercise-induced muscle tissue damage. This protective effect likely involves the antioxidant properties of noni, as CK concentration increased along with oxidative stress markers in athletes undergoing intensive training [43]. Indeed, intense exercise causes increases in free radical production and inflammation [44] both of which are inhibited by TNJ.

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The antiglycation potential of noni fruit juice was further demonstrated in an eight-week open-label intervention study and in a cross-sectional population study [66]. Both studies were conducted within the context of iridoid content, as iridoids are major phytochemicals in noni fruit and are well known for their anti-AGE biological activities [67,68]. Both studies utilized skin autofluorescence as a marker for AGE accumulation in the body [69]. The eight-week intervention study measured changes in the skin autofluorescence of 34 adults who daily consumed a mixed noni juice beverage similar to TNJ, TruAge Max (Morinda, Inc., American Fork, UT, USA). TruAge Max (MAX) is also composed of noni fruit puree but is mixed with cornelian cherry (Cornus officinalis and Cornus mas) juices, and olive (Olea europaea) leaf extract. Overweight or obese, prehypertensive, or grade 1 hypertensive males and females with impaired fasting glucose and who were not using prescription medication were included in the trial. Previously published population reference values revealed that the average initial skin autofluorescence of this group was typical of healthy 44-year-old adults even though their average actual age was 40. As such, their AGE-associated age (ASA) was four years older than their average actual age. But eight weeks of MAX supplementation reduced the ASA of this group to 39 years, demonstrating a significant antiglycative effect.

The cross-sectional population study included 3913 people from ten locations throughout Japan. During health education and promotion events, a questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and information on daily ingestion rates of mixed noni juice beverages (i.e., TNJ or MAX). Daily iridoid intake was calculated from the ingestion rates by applying the data obtained from chemical analyses of the beverages. As with the eight-week intervention study, skin autofluorescence was used as a marker for AGE burden in 2790 mixed noni juice consumers and 1123 controls (those who did not drink any noni juice beverages). Regression analysis revealed that mixed noni juice intake was associated with lower AGE levels with noni consumers having an average ASA that was 2.07 years less than the general population. Notably, for every mg of iridoids consumed, ASA decreased by 0.017 years. Among those who never smoked, the average ASA of mixed noni juice consumers was 3.52 years less than the general population. The significant anti-AGE activity of mixed noni juice was at least in part a result of its ability to induce antioxidant enzyme activity, specifically superoxide dismutase and catalase [70].

The second weight loss study included 90 grade 3 overweight (morbidly obese) adults who were divided into three treatment groups [80]. For six weeks, all participants followed a low calorie and low sodium diet. Participants in two separate mixed noni juice groups were assigned to drink either TNJ or MAX for the duration of the study. Those in the control group did not consume any noni juice beverages. Muscle mass loss was significantly lower in those drinking mixed noni juice beverages compared to the control group. Maintenance of weight loss throughout the study was greater in those drinking TNJ or MAX than in the control group as was reduction of waist circumference and body mass index. The preservation of active muscle cell mass seems to be a likely mechanism by which the improved weight loss was achieved by those in the TNJ and MAX groups. Protection of muscle tissue is also one mechanism responsible for improved endurance, as previously discussed.

A somewhat unexpected property of noni juice was its potential influence on osteoporosis and conductive hearing loss. A three-month placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted with post-menopausal women wherein participants drank either two fluid ounces (59 mL) of TNJ or placebo twice per day [81]. Before and after the study, the women completed the Short Form 36 (SF-36) Quality of Life Survey and provided urine samples for deoxypyridinoline analysis (a marker for bone turnover) as well as received hearing tests. Those who drank TNJ had slightly greater average deoxypyridinoline crosslinks, indicating increased bone resorption. This finding was consistent with the observed attenuation of hearing loss that also occurred in the TNJ group, as the transmission of sound vibrations by the bones of the middle ear is influenced by the severity of osteoporosis. These positive effects on bone health also accompanied improvements in several quality of life scores including mental health scores.

Two additional small human pilot studies suggest that noni juice may also have a positive impact on hypertension and gingivitis. In a one-month open-label trial, hypertensive adults drank two fluid ounces (59 mL) of TNJ twice per day [82]. Pre- and post-trial diastolic and systolic blood pressure measurements were made in triplicate and compared. By the end of the study, all participants experienced reductions in systolic blood pressure with average diastolic and systolic readings decreasing from 83 to 76 mm Hg and from 144 to 132 mm Hg, respectively. Accompanying in vitro testing suggested that pure noni juice may have some effect on angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and angiotensin receptors (AR). However, this trial included a small number of participants (n = 10), and there was no effect on the blood pressure of normotensive participants in other clinical trials of TNJ. Therefore, ACE-inhibiting and AR-blocking activities are not likely to occur in real-life conditions. If noni juice does have an impact on high blood pressure, it may involve other mechanisms such as reduction of aortic SAR and the release of nitric oxide by macrophages [83]. These same antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms are reportedly responsible for the hypotensive activity of olive leaf extract [84,85].

To evaluate the influence of TNJ on oral health, eleven patients with moderate to severe gingivitis or periodontitis were enrolled in a four-week pilot study [86]. These volunteers were divided into a control group (n = 5) and a TNJ group. Those in the TNJ group rinsed their mouths for two minutes with 30 mL TNJ plus 30 mL water, followed by swallowing. This was done twice per day for four weeks. Bacterial samples were isolated from the oral cavity and gingival pouches. Papilla bleeding (PBI), plaque, and approximal plaque indices were also scored for each volunteer before and after the treatment period. Those in the TNJ group experienced a significant decline in PBI, especially when compared to the control group. Interestingly, TNJ had only weak bacteriostatic activity in vitro, and bacterial composition of patient oral cavities did not change significantly during the treatment phase. Therefore, the study authors concluded that the improvement in clinical outcomes in the TNJ group was likely a result of the anti-inflammatory properties of noni juice.

TNJ was also evaluated for its in vitro antioxidant activity in the LOOH and tetrazolium nitroblue (TNB) assays [97]. The SAR scavenging activity of TNJ, as measured in the TNB assay, followed a linear positive dose-response. The SAR scavenging activity of 7 μL/mL TNJ was also compared to those of 13.3 μg/mL vitamin C, 13.3 μg/mL Pycnogenol (Twin Labortories, Inc., New York, NY, USA), and 22.2 μg/mL of grape seed powder, the latter three being well known for their antioxidant activity. The SAR-scavenging activity of TNJ was 2.8 times greater than vitamin C, 1.4 times greater than Pycnogenol, and 1.1 times greater than grape seed powder. Notably, the total solid material in 7 μL TNJ was approximately 0.7 μg. Therefore, a much smaller amount of noni juice solids, 3 to 5% of the total weight of the other antioxidants exhibited greater SAR-scavenging activity. As with SAR scavenging activity, in vitro LOOH quenching activity followed a linear positive dose-response, revealing a consistent antioxidant action.

Ingestion of TNJ protected the livers of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats exposed to carbon tetrachloride and resulted in decreased hepatotoxic lesions and significant reductions in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) when compared to a placebo group [98]. Further, SAR and LOOH levels were significantly lower in the liver tissue of noni-fed rats [99]. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) causes extensive liver damage from lipid oxidation processes as a result of the formation of the trichloromethyl and trichloromethyl peroxide radicals during metabolism. These trichloromethyl radicals initiate lipid peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acids resulting in cytotoxic and genotoxic LOOH and other decomposition products as well as increased pro-inflammatory SAR production [100,101]. As such, the liver protective results in these in vivo studies suggest that noni juice may contain compounds that are capable of scavenging trichloromethyl radicals or subsequent peroxidation products. 2ff7e9595c