Letters To The Editor
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World J Gastroenterol. Jun 14, 2006; 12(22): 3616-3619
Published online Jun 14, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i22.3616
Noni juice is not hepatotoxic
Brett J West, C Jarakae Jensen, Johannes Westendorf
Brett J West, C Jarakae Jensen, Research and Development Department, Tahitian Noni International, American Fork, Utah, United States
Johannes Westendorf, University Medical School of Hamburg, Department of Toxicology, Hamburg, Germany
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Brett J West, Research and Development, Tahitian Noni International, American Fork, UT 84003, United States. brett_west@tni.com
Telephone: +1-801-2343621 Fax: +1-801-2341030
Received: February 24, 2006
Revised: March 12, 2006
Accepted: March 20, 2006
Published online: June 14, 2006
Abstract

Noni juice (Morinda citrifolia) has been approved for use as a safe food within the European Union, following a review of safety. Since approval, three cases of acute hepatitis in Austrian noni juice consumers have been published, where a causal link is suggested between the liver dysfunction and ingestion of anthraquinones from the plant. Measurements of liver function in a human clinical safety study of TAHITIAN NONI® Juice, as well as subacute and subchronic animal toxicity tests revealed no evidence of adverse liver effects at doses many times higher than those reported in the case studies. Additionally, M. citrifolia anthraquinones occur in the fruit in quantities too small to be of any toxicological significance. Further, these do not have chemical structures capable of being reduced to reactive anthrone radicals, which were implicated in previous cases of herbal hepototoxicity. The available data reveals no evidence of liver toxicity.

Keywords: Noni juice; Morinda citrifolia; Novel food; Human clinical safety study