Tahitian Noni® Equine Essentials™: A Novel Anti-inflammatory and a COX-2 Inhibitor Which Regulates LPS-induced Inflammatory Mediator Expression in Equine Neonatal Monocytes

J Vet Intern Med 2006. 20(3):756; Abstract #165
Tahitian Noni® Equine Essentials™: A Novel Anti-inflammatory and a COX-2 Inhibitor Which Regulates LPS-induced Inflammatory Mediator Expression in Equine Neonatal Monocytes
J. Xu, A. C. McSloy, B. K. Anderson, R. G. Godbee, S. F. Peek, B. J. Darien

Given the broad range of therapeutic effects attributed to noni (Morinda citrifolia), the authors tested their hypothesis that Tahitian Noni® Equine Essentials® would modulate endotoxin (microbial toxin that can cause inflammation) inflammatory responses in equine foal monocytes (young blood cells) by regulating COX-2 expression (an enzyme involved in inflammation). The test foals were fed orally 60 ml of Tahitian Noni® Equine Essentials®, twice daily for 60 days. Blood samples were taken at days 10 and 60, from which the peripheral monocytes were isolated and separated into test and control groups. The test group was then stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 2 hrs. The treated foals showed a dramatic fold reduction in COX-2, TNF-ά (tumor necrosis factor), ILs-1β, -8, and -6 (interleukins, protein mediators between white blood cells) mRNA (messenger RNA), compared to the untreated controls. A similar, but less dramatic, reduction was observed at 60 days. These results indicate that foals receiving the Tahitian Noni® Equine Essentials® may experience promising anti-inflammatory therapy.