Evaluation of noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) juice antiproliferative activity using the Helianthus tuberosus classical in vitro growth model system

Abstract

Morinda citrifolia L. (noni) is a tropical plant that has been used for centuries in traditional medicine for numerous purposes and, nowadays, is largely commercialised on the worldwide market as a dietary supplement. Long-term in vitro cultures of Helianthus tuberosus dormant parenchyma explants constitute a classical growth model that can be used to evaluate the proliferative or antiproliferative and/or cytotoxic effects of different mixtures of chemicals present in food or with putative pharmacological applications. Explants of dormant tubers were cultured in vitro with 2%, 10% and 20% (v/v) of noni fruit juice. After four weeks of culture, explant cell growth was reduced 40.5%, 72.5% and 73.9%, respectively, by 2%, 10% and 20% (v/v) of noni juice in comparison to untreated controls. Our results demonstrated that noni fruit juice possesses strong antiproliferative capacity, low cytotoxicity and moderate antioxidant activity.

Keywords:

• Antioxidant activity
• 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)
• Helianthus tuberosus
• Morinda citrifolia
• noni

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Mr. Nicodemo Mele (University of Bologna) for editing the figures. This work was supported by RFO funds from the Italian Ministry of Instruction, University and Research (MIUR) to Annalisa Tassoni and Nello Bagni. This paper is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Nello Bagni who greatly applied and developed the H. tuberosus in vitro growth model. We wish to thank Dr. Marianne Louise van Buuren for language editing of the final manuscript.

Notes

* Present address: Instituto de Agroquimica y Tecnologia de Alimentos, Dep. de Ciencia de los Alimentos, Paterna (Valencia), Spain

§ Present Address: John Innes Centre, Department of Biological Chemistry, Norwich, UK