A tree native to Asian countries has sprung forth from the tropical terrain of Cuba like a beneficent archangel in the battle against diverse ailments. We are referring to Noni, the commonly-used Polynesian name for Morinda Citrifolia, whose fruit, leaves, and seeds and roots contain substantial minerals and vegetal matter that could contribute to combating such diverse complaints as neoplasia, arterial hypertension, osteoporosis, alcoholism, arthritis, muscular pain, and prostate and urinary system disorders, to mention just a few.

The Noni is already accumulating a substantial casebook of positive therapeutic results; one that is being documented by Cuba’s driving force behind the use of the plant. Dr. Isidoro Scull, a veterinary doctor who specialized in homeopathy and pharmacology, disciplines that he studied in Argentina in the 1990s.

Scull is also the principal mastermind behind the highly-regarded PV-2 and its derivatives; medicines produced with the Morinda Royoc plant, commonly found in Cuban coastal areas, where it is widely known as garañón. This plant has incredible revitalizing properties and is a powerful antioxidant. For that reason, we will provide a more detailed report on this plant at a later date in Granma International.

"While trying to find out more about the Royoc plant, I had access to information on its close relative, the Morinda Citrifolia," recalls the Cuban researcher. During a tour of Caribbean countries, Dr. Scull discovered Noni plants in Haiti, and sowed seeds he had collected from that country on a plot of land at the Villena-Revolución Agricultural Polytechnic Institute, an educational establishment in the Cuban capital where he has worked for many years. Subsequently, a few Morinda Citrifolia specimens were found in Baracoa in the easternmost region of Cuba.

"I went especially to Baracoa and brought several tanks loaded with Noni fruit," says José Pérez, Dr. Scull’s colleague, currently responsible for the plant’s agricultural propagation. The team has planted out some three hectares at the Villena Polytechnic.

"We prepare an alcoholic extract from the fruit in order to preserve the juice," explains Dr. Scull and adds: "journalist Cecilio Curbelo, who specializes in natural and traditional medicine, announced on his radio show that the preparation was available, and since then there has been a never-ending avalanche of patients arriving at these offices." Afterwards, they added capsules and tablets, "all of which have been properly certified."

Two years on, Dr. Scull is archiving the medical records of around 1,000 patients who, with the aid of this natural nutritional supplement, have been able to overcome diverse ailments, some with a fatal prognosis.

Dr. Scull is extremely hopeful over propagating the beneficial effects of both Morindas – the Royoc and the Citrifolia – more widely. Significant support has been provided by the Cuban urban agriculture sector, a powerful vehicle for the country’s food security that has recently added the Noni plant as a sub-program in its endeavor to promote medicinal plants throughout the nation.

At the same time, the modest juice, capsule and tablet production plant within the Villena-Revolución Polytechnic needs to be significantly expanded. Dr. Scull is searching for additional resources in order to acquire a juice pasteurization plant; an essential facility in order to prolong the shelf life of this natural medicine. The center is also in the early stages of installing beehives in the Noni cultivation areas so as to obtain fortified honey.

But there’s still more. "In a few months time," he explains," we are organizing the 1st National Scientific Workshop on the Noni plant, to bring together doctors, researchers, botanists, chemists and other specialists in order to examine how we can circulate news of the plant’s beneficial effects still further. After this, we are planning an International Conference to show the world the excellent results we have obtained in our country."

"There remains a great deal more to do," assures Dr. Scull, acknowledging the need to further investigate the major assets of both Morindas and to study in detail their influence on the patients’ clinical development.

This wonderful work is being undertaken by this scientist and his small group of colleagues, working within a health system that benefits the whole of the Cuban population without exception, with a strong emphasis on primary care and considered to be one of the best in the world.

With this sound application of natural medicine, they are contributing to saving lives and increasing the hopes of sick people and their families. Agriculturist José Pérez is right when he insists that Noni "is one of the fruits of Eden."

Dr. Leonicio Padrón, director of National Center for Natural and Traditional Medicine (CENAMENT), at the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, confirms that there is a growing preference for all things "natural", including medicine. In Cuba, almost half of patients seeing their family doctor or attending hospital receive some form of treatment using natural products or techniques or procedures associated with traditional medicine. It is not by chance, he says, that the UN organization in Cuba, and most specifically through the UN Development Program (UNDP) and its development program at local level, has selected the natural and traditional medicine program as one of its areas of South-South cooperation. Dr. Padrón refers to Noni and VIMANG, amongst other natural products. "I don’t believe they can cure illnesses by themselves, but what is evident is their capacity to strengthen the body’s defense system, with definite anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities, as well as the capacity for cellular regeneration and support to the immune system. "For this reason," added the Cuban scientist, "the products can improve a patient’s general state of health and quality of life, something that I believe is very, very important for a sick person. These days, Cuba enjoys well-deserved prestige in the world of natural medicine and possesses a highly specialized facultative body. "However," he insists," we must continue to investigate further and study the effects of these products, select the most relevant examples and establish industrial production facilities to complement already existing traditional methods and increase access for those who are interested."

Morinda Citrifolia originates from continental and insular Asia. It is an evergreen tree that can grow to 30 feet tall. Known in Polynesia as "Noni", in Cuba it has also been called Mora de la India (Indian Berry). It arrived in the Americas from Asia thanks to marine currents and birds and is found in coastal areas where the soil is calcareous with a high level of salinity. Its fruit contain at least 30 natural compounds effective in the treatment of hypertension, inflammatory and allergic disorders. Its components also possess antipyretic and analgesic properties. Likewise, Morinda Citirfolia’s faculty of successfully limiting the advance of certain types of tumor and even neutralizing cancers in the early stages of the disease has been documented by experiences in Cuba and other countries.