By Dr. Ralph Heinicke, Ph.D

My search for the active ingredient in Noni began with a series of studies on the pineapple plant. Since about 1972 I had been attempting to identify the unknown ingredient in "bromelain", which gives crude preparations of this enzyme their potent pharmacological properties. (Sometimes!) 

After many discouraging years of research I eventually identified this ingredient as a new alkaloid to which I gave the name "xeronine".

Noticing that the clinical claims of efficacy for bromelain and Noni were practically identical, I tried the same techniques on Noni fruit, a technique which I had developed for isolating xeronine from the pineapple plant.

The technique worked! Not only was I able to isolate the same compound from Noni fruit, but the yields were excellent. Today Noni is one of the best raw materials to use for the isolation of xeronine. 

Xeronine is a relatively small alkaloid that is physiologically active in the picogram range. (Editorial note: a picogram is one trillionth of a gram.) It occurs in practically all healthy cells of plants, animals and microorganisms.

However, the amount of free alkaloid is minute, and is well below the limits of normal chemical analytical techniques. 

Even though Noni fruits have a negligible amount of free xeronine, they contain appreciable amounts of the precursor of xeronine. This precursor, which I have named "proxeronine", is a strange molecule.

The molecular weight is relatively large, namely about 16,000. In contrast to most plant colloids, this colloid contains neither sugars, nor amino acids, nor nucleic acids.

Thus most biochemists have overlooked this relatively abundant molecule which occurs in most tissues. 

Noni fruits also contain the inactive form of the enzyme that releases xeronine from proxeronine. Unless this pro-enzyme becomes properly activated, however, Noni juice will cause few pharmacological reactions. 

Fortunately, if Noni juice is taken on an empty stomach, the critical pro-enzyme escapes digestion in the stomach and enters the intestines.

Here the chances are high that it may become activated. 

Many years of research are still required to demonstrate convincingly how xeronine functions at the molecular level in a cell. In the meantime I can suggest certain hypotheses which can act as a guide in planning experiments.

I am basing these hypotheses both on clinical results with bromelain pills as well as on a limited number of laboratory and animal experiments carried out with pure xeronine. 

I am proposing that the primary function of xeronine is to regulate the rigidity and shape of specific proteins.

Since these proteins have different functions, we have the usual clinical situation where administering one simple drug causes an unbelievably wide range of physiological responses.

I believe that each tissue has cells which contain proteins, which in turn have receptor sites for the absorption of xeronine. Certain of these proteins are the inert forms of enzymes which require absorbed xeronine to become active.

Other proteins become potential receptor sites for hormones after they react with xeronine.

Thus the action of ginseng, bromelain and Noni in making a person feel well is probably caused by xeronine converting certain brain receptor proteins into active sites for the absorption of the endorphin, the well being hormones.

Other proteins form pores through membranes in the intestines, the blood vessels, and other body organs. Absorbing xeronine on these proteins changes the shape of the pores and thus affects the passage of molecules through the membranes.

Thus the action of bromelain, Noni, and ginseng in improving digestion may be ascribable to this action. These are just a few of the many exciting actions of this newly discovered alkaloid. Since Noni is a potential source of this alkaloid, Noni juice can be a valuable herbal remedy.

There are some practical problems, however, in using Noni juice as a health supplement.

The flavor of juice made from ripe Noni is terrible. None of my colleagues would touch the untreated juice. Even after I had removed most of the disagreeable flavor (several organic acids) from the juice, my colleagues still found it unfit to drink. For a price, the odoriferous chemicals can be removed from the Hawaiian variety.

However, other varieties grown in other Pacific Islands are milder in flavor and better source of Noni.

Another critical problem in using Noni juice as a health supplement is timing. If the juice is drunk on a full stomach, it will have very little beneficial action.

The pepsin and acid in the stomach will destroy the enzyme that liberates xeronine. For a seriously sick person, drinking the juice on an empty stomach rarely poses a problem because the patient is too sick to want to eat anything.

However, for the average person who wants to drink Noni juice as a health tonic, timing is critical. I would recommend drinking 100 ml of Noni juice a half-hour before breakfast.

At this time the juice will pass rapidly through the stomach and into the intestines, where it may be converted into the active enzyme. At any other time of the day, especially at meal times, the primary effects of drinking Noni juice will be psychological and caloric.

Because of the strong flavor, the psychological effect might not necessarily be positive! To obtain the maximum effect of the active ingredient in Noni, I would recommend also that Noni juice not be drunk with coffee, tobacco or alcohol.

At times the combination of these materials and Noni can give some unexpected side effects. At other times the combination merely lowers the potentially beneficial effect of xeronine.

The old islander people were truly fortunate to have herbal medical doctors who recognized a valuable natural product and who knew how to administer this supplement or juice with the proper psychological persuasion.

Scientist have studied the Morinda citrifolia plant for many years hoping to unlock the  secrets of its tremendous impact on the body. In study after study, Morinda citrifolia has been found to be exactly what the traditional Polynesian have always known -- a perfect natural gift worthy of our greatest attention.

I have devoted much of my life to the study of this unique substance that I have named proxeronine.  I am convinced of the tremendous benefits achieved by furnishing the body with a proper supply of this material. 

The fact that Morinda has finally developed a way to bring noni juice to the market delights me.  I am an enthusiastic consumer of TAHITIAN NONI® JUICE and support the mission of Morinda 100%.---Dr. Ralph Heinicke, Ph.D.