Indian Morinda species: A review

Abstract

Morinda is a largest genus of Rubiaceae family, and its 11 species are found in India.In India, plant species are known by several common names as great morinda, Indian mulberry, noni, beach mulberry and cheese fruit. Various Morinda products (capsules, tablets, skin products and fruit juices) are available in the market, used by people for treatment of several health complaints. A diversity of phytochemicals including iridoids, flavonoids, flavonoid glycosides, anthraquinones, coumarins, lignanas, noniosides, phenolics and triterpenoids have been reported from Morinda species. Morinda species are used in the treatment of inflammation, cancer, diabetes, psyquiatric disorders, and bacterial and viral infections. The noni fruit juice (Morinda citrifolia) and its products are used clinically in the treatment of cancer, hypertension and cervical spondylosis affecting patients. M. citrifolia fuit juice, with different doses, is used in the maintaining blood pressure and reducing of superoxides, HDL and LDL levels. Similarly, oligosaccharide capsules and tablets of root extract of M. officinalis are recommended as medicine for the treatment of kidney problems and sexual dysfunctions of patients. The toxicological studies revealed that higher doses of fruit juice (4,000 or 5,000 mg/kg) of M. citrifolia for 2 or more months cause toxic effects on liver and kidneys. M. officinalis root extracts (ethanolic and aqueous) are found fully safe during treatment of diseases. A large number of reviews are available on M. citrifolia but very few studies are conducted on other Indian Morinda species. This review reports the comprehensive knowledge on state-wise distribution, botany, ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, clinical applications and toxicological evaluations of 11 species of Morinda found in India.

Therapeutic Effects of Morinda citrifolia Linn. (Noni) Aqueous Fruit Extract on the Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in High-Fat/High-Fructose-Fed Swiss Mice

“…Our data demonstrated that AE presents iridoids, noniosides, and flavonoid (rutin); these compounds were previously observed in other studies [24,54,61,68]. Iridoids are found in combination with sugar in most plant species and are named as iridoid glycosides [69]. Iridoids derived from the M. citrifolia root extract were previously demonstrated to have hypoglycemic effects in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice, a typical animal model of type 1 diabetes [54].…”

“…A total of 18 novel trisaccharide fatty acid esters (noniosides A-O and others) were isolated specifically from the fruits of M. citrifolia [69]; however, there were no studies in diabetes animal models that demonstrated hypoglycemic effects promoted by noniosides from noni fruit. On the other hand, rutin, an important flavonoid found in M. citrifolia fruit [68], demonstrated an influence on hypoglycemic parameters [70,71] and also improved dyslipidemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats [70].…”

The Effects of Morinda citrifolia (Noni) on the Cellular Viability and Osteogenesis of Stem Cell Spheroids

“…A more recent report showed that Noni had antioxidant and antibiotic characteristics in vitro [ 26 ]. Noni has been used to treat inflammatory diseases, atopic dermatitis, colitis, cervical spondylosis, hypertension and cancer [ 27 , 28 ]. A previous report showed that Noni fruit extract had potent inhibitory activity on gut bacterial β-glucuronidase [ 29 ].…”

“…Various doses have been used for testing the effects of Noni [ 25 , 28 , 35 ]. The toxicological studies revealed that higher doses of Noni fruit juice of 4000 mg/kg or 5000 mg/kg for two or more months may cause toxic effects on the liver and kidneys [ 28 ].…”

“…Various doses have been used for testing the effects of Noni [ 25 , 28 , 35 ]. The toxicological studies revealed that higher doses of Noni fruit juice of 4000 mg/kg or 5000 mg/kg for two or more months may cause toxic effects on the liver and kidneys [ 28 ]. Doses of 500–1000 mg/kg of Noni extract produced heptoprotective effects, proven by an increase in the liver antioxidant enzyme and alkaline phosphatase activity [ 25 ].…”