title: Anti-allergic activity of the Morinda citrifolia extract and its constituents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae), commonly known as noni is distributed throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Anti-allergic effects of noni have not been reported despite the clinical usage as an anti-allergic agent.
  
  
  METHODS
  To investigate the anti-allergic effects of the 50% ethanolic extract of M. citrifolia fruits and leaves (MCF-ext and MCL-ext), dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB)-induced triphasic cutaneous reaction and picryl chloride-induced contact dermatitis (PC-CD) tests were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In DNFB-induced triphasic cutaneous reaction, oral administration of MCF-ext and MCL-ext exhibited dose-dependent inhibition of cutaneous reaction at 1 h (immediate phase response) after the DNFB challenge. MCF-ext also inhibited ear swelling at 24 h (late phase response) and 8 days (very late phase response) after the DNFB challenge. The effect of MCL-ext on the immediate phase response was attributed to the anti-degranulation from RBL-2H3 cells, while MCF-ext had no significant effect on degranulation. The active components of anti-degranulation activity in MCL-ext were determined to be ursolic acid, rutin and kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1→6)-β-D-glucopyranoside. In the PC-CD test, both MCF-ext and MCL-ext showed an anti-swelling effect but the potency of MCF-ext was stronger than MCL-ext.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that noni fruits and leaves can be a daily consumable material for the prevention of allergic symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Kinki University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashiosaka, Osaka 577-8502, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.affiliation: Research and Development, Morinda Worldwide, Inc., 3-2-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan.
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Kinki University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashiosaka, Osaka 577-8502, Japan.
authors.forename: Kaito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Kinki University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashiosaka, Osaka 577-8502, Japan.
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Futamura-Masuda
authors.affiliation: Research and Development, Morinda Worldwide, Inc., 3-2-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan.
authors.forename: Akemi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Uwaya
authors.affiliation: Research and Development, Morinda Worldwide, Inc., 3-2-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumiyuki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Isami
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Kinki University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashiosaka, Osaka 577-8502, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsuda
keywords: Allergy; IgE-mediated triphasic cutaneous reaction; Morinda citrifolia; contact dermatitis; degranulation