Health
Noni Fruit Proving Popular
It's knobby and green with red spots and it has been around for two millennia, but alternative medicine specialists say the noni fruit has a modern side, being used to treat some 100 different ailments ranging from arthritis and asthma to bug bites.
Noni is the common name for Morinda Citrifolia, a plant typically found in the islands of Hawaii and Tahiti, but also nicknamed the "pain-killer plant" and the "headache tree." The Big Island Noni firm, which supplies the stuff in juice form, says the fruit's healing powers can be traced to proxeronine, an alkaloid, which it contains in abundance and which helps to strengthen the formation of cells.
London health expert Lucy Shakeshaft says research indicates the plant contains a wide range of phytochemicals that work together to give it its health-promoting properties. Big Island Noni claims the American Association for Cancer Research has found noni juice effective in stimulating the immune system.
The firm recommends two tablespoons of noni juice each morning before meals -- and "it can also be mixed with your favorite juice." The Kalapana Noni Farm in Hilo, Hawaii, supplies it at $14 per 10-ounce bottle.
Noni is the common name for Morinda Citrifolia, a plant typically found in the islands of Hawaii and Tahiti, but also nicknamed the "pain-killer plant" and the "headache tree." The Big Island Noni firm, which supplies the stuff in juice form, says the fruit's healing powers can be traced to proxeronine, an alkaloid, which it contains in abundance and which helps to strengthen the formation of cells.
London health expert Lucy Shakeshaft says research indicates the plant contains a wide range of phytochemicals that work together to give it its health-promoting properties. Big Island Noni claims the American Association for Cancer Research has found noni juice effective in stimulating the immune system.
The firm recommends two tablespoons of noni juice each morning before meals -- and "it can also be mixed with your favorite juice." The Kalapana Noni Farm in Hilo, Hawaii, supplies it at $14 per 10-ounce bottle.
