Noni in pregnancy and breastfeeding
What the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, part of the NIH, reports about noni — in their words, not ours.
What NCCIH says about safety
Noni juice might be safe when used for up to 3 months. However, several cases of liver toxicity have been reported in people who had consumed noni juice or noni tea for several weeks. It is unclear whether noni caused the liver problems. There isn’t enough reliable information to know whether noni fruit extract is safe. There isn’t enough reliable information to know whether it’s safe to use noni topically (applied to the skin). Noni contains a substantial amount of potassium. People who have kidney disease or need to restrict their intake of potassium should consult a health care provider before using noni. It may be unsafe to take noni along with certain medicines, including medicines that increase potassium, decrease blood pressure, or harm the liver. If you take any type of medicine, talk with your health care provider before using noni or other herbal products; some herbs and medicines interact in harmful ways. Little is known about whether it’s safe to use noni during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
Quoted in full from NCCIH so nothing is lost in summarising. Where they say “little is known”, that means the studies do not exist — not that the herb is known to be safe, and not that it is known to be harmful.
How much is actually known
Only a very small number of studies have investigated the effects of noni in people.
What the research has found
In laboratory research, noni has shown antioxidant, immune-modulating, antimicrobial, antifungal, and tumor-fighting properties. These results suggest that noni may warrant further study for various diseases. However, noni has not been shown to have beneficial effects on any health condition in studies of people.
Before you take this
Dose and form change the answer completely. A culinary amount of a spice, a cup of tea, and a concentrated supplement extract are three different things, and most research is done on the last of them.
Supplements are also not regulated like medicines, so strength and purity vary between products. Bring the actual bottle to your midwife, doctor or pharmacist — that conversation is worth more than any page, including this one.
Show the evidence
Source: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institutes of Health. NCCIH states: “This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Duplication is encouraged.” Read the original on nccih.nih.gov.
We reproduce their safety section whole rather than paraphrasing it, and add no verdict of our own.
Educational reference, not medical advice. Never start or stop a herb, supplement or medicine while pregnant or breastfeeding without checking with your own clinician.