Morinda citrifolia fruit and anxiolytic effect

Journal of Ayurveda & Integrative Medicine | July-September 2014 | Vol 5 | Issue 3 Sir, Kannan et al. reported an observation on “Morinda citrifolia fruit and anxiolytic effect.”[1] Kannan et al. concluded this effect on an animal model. In fact, Morinda citrifolia fruit has been previously mentioned for this observation.[2] Also, it is proposed that “an HPLC fingerprint profile of the methanolic extract” should be proposed for quality control purposes for using the extract.[2] An important concern should be not only the efficacy but also the safety of the extract. There are some recent reports on the toxicity of the extract. A good example is hepatotoxicity due to the intake of Morinda citrifolia fruit juice.[3] In addition, in an animal model, it is reported that Morinda citrifolia fruit juice can result in osteogenic defect in the fetus.[4] This topic should be further evaluated to compare the efficacy versus toxicity of Morinda citrifolia fruit.