Tropical treasure: noni may thwart cancer, improve mood.(Wellness: supplements and functional foods)

Noni's story begins more than 2,000 years ago. Ancient sea-goers--who eventually settled in what is now Polynesia--carried the fruit on board canoes that they used to traverse the oceans.

As you can imagine, space on board these canoes was limited, but according to the International Noni Communication Council (INCC), noni was considered essential because of its healthful properties, so they made room for it. The ancient settlers and their descendants have used noni as a cultural, religions and medicinal drink for thousands of years, but it has been only in the past 15 years or so that the United States has seen its noni market grow, allowing Westerners to reap the healthful benefits of this tropical fruit.

Ancient Traditions

Many believe that "real" noni is derived solely from the island of Tahiti, although the fruit is native to the entire region of Polynesia and grows in countless tropical locales including Hawaii, Southeast Asia and Australia. Known as Morinda citrifolia in Latin and by the common name of Indian mulberry, noni grows on trees and is small--approximately the size of a lemon--with a waxy-looking, yellow-green skin. Reportedly, noni juice isn't a pleasant thing to drink: its flavor has been called "terrible" and "objectionable," and it was once likened to "rancid cheese."

Despite its bitter flavor and strong smell, noni has been used by traditional South Seas islanders as a healing tonic of sorts for centuries to mend ailments ranging from fevers to broken bones. However, more than one report indicated that sick Polynesians only resorted to using noni juice for its healing properties if all other treatments had failed.

On the bright side, 21st-century food technology allows noni's flavor to be improved by reducing the off-notes and/or adding other fruit flavors such as strawberry-kiwi, raspberry or papaya.

Cancer Fighter?