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Review
. 2022 Jan-Dec:21:15347354221132848.
doi: 10.1177/15347354221132848.

Efficacy and Safety of Morinda citrifolia L. (Noni) as a Potential Anticancer Agent

Hemahwathy Chanthira Kumar  1 , Xin Yi Lim  1 , Farah Huda Mohkiar  2 , Shazlan Noor Suhaimi  1 , Nurmaziah Mohammad Shafie  3 , Terence Yew Chin Tan  1
Affiliations
Review

Efficacy and Safety of Morinda citrifolia L. (Noni) as a Potential Anticancer Agent

Hemahwathy Chanthira Kumar et al. Integr Cancer Ther. 2022 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and therefore there has been interest in discovering the phytoconstituents of medicinal plants exhibiting anticancer activities. Morinda citrifolia L., commonly known as Noni, has shown anticancer properties in in vitro, in vivo, and in clinical studies. A systematic review was conducted to collate scientific evidence on the anticancer properties of M. citrifolia using pre-determined keywords on 5 electronic databases: MEDLINE, CENTRAL, LILACS, Web of Science, and EBSCOHost. A total of 51 clinical and preclinical studies comprising 41 efficacy and 10 safety studies were included in this review. Our findings showed that M. citrifolia demonstrated various anticancer properties in different cancer models, via multiple mechanisms including antitumor, antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, antiangiogenesis, antimigratory, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activities. M. citrifolia is deemed to be a potentially valuable medicinal plant in the treatment of cancer through its many intrinsic pathways. More well-designed and reported preclinical efficacy and safety studies are needed to allow for better translation into future clinical studies which could further substantiate the role of M. citriflolia in cancer treatment.

Keywords: Morinda citrifolia; cancer; chemotherapy; neoplasm; noni; tumor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flow chart.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Pooled effect size of noni treatment on tumor volume in experimental breast cancer.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Overall pooled effect size of noni treatment on tumor volume in experimental lung cancer.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Subgroup analysis on pooled effect size of noni treatment on tumor volume in experimental lung cancer based on comparator (negative control and other treatment).
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Subgroup analysis of high or low dose noni treatment vs other treatment on tumor volume in experimental lung cancer.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Pooled effect size of noni treatment on (a) neutrophil, (b) lymphocyte, (c) erythrocyte, and (d) leukocyte count in experimental leukemia.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
(a) Risk of bias assessment of each included study and (b) risk of bias assessment summary of all studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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