Morinda officinalis.   巴 戟 天 Bā jǐ tiān   Morinda     
PART USED: Root
Nature: slightly warm   FLAVOR:  Sweet, pungent
FUNCTIONS
GROUP: Replenishing Yang
1. Warms the Kidneys and invigorates the Yang energy.[1]
2. Tone up Kidney Yang, strengthen tendons and bone.[2]
INDICATIONS
1. Impotence, premature ejaculation, wet dreams, backache, cold uterus (fertility), irregular menstruation, rheumatism.[1]
2. Weak loins and legs, sore pain in joints, cold pain in lower abdomen, impotence, seminal emission.[2]
COMBINATIONS 
- Kidney Yin and Yang deficiency: Warms and Tonifies the Kidney Yang, supplements and secures the Kidney Jing, nourishes the Blood Morinda Combination- Ba ji yin tang tang
PREPARATIONS: Decoction.  3-6 g.[1] Root  3-9 g.[2]

References
Inner Path can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Research

Antinociceptive anti-inflammatory effect of Monotropein isolated from the root of Morinda officinalis
Choi J, Lee KT, Choi MY, Nam JH, Jung HJ, Park SK, Park HJ.
Abstract
The root of Morinda officinalis (Rubiaceae) is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and impotence in the traditional Oriental medicine. To identify the antinociceptive anti-inflammatory components of this crude drug, we adopted an activity-directed fractionation approach. The active fraction of the BuOH extract of M. officinalis root was subjected to silica gel and ODS column chromatography to yield two diterpenes, compounds 1 and 2 and these were identified as monotropein and deacetylasperulosidic acid, respectively. The iridoid glycoside, monotropein, was tested for its anti-inflammatory antinociceptive effects using hot plate- and writhing antinociceptive assays and by using carrageenan-induced anti-inflammatory assays in mice and rats. Pretreatment with monotropein (at 20, 30 mg/kg/d, p.o.) significantly reduced stretching episodes and prolonged action time in mice. It also significantly reduced acute paw edema by carrageenan in rats. These results indicate that monotropein contributes to the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory action of Morinda officinalis root.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2005 Oct;28(10):1915-8. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Effect of Morinda officinalis capsule on osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats.
Li Y, Lü SS, Tang GY, Hou M1, Tang Q, Zhang XN, Chen WH, Chen G, Xue Q, Zhang CC, Zhang JF, Chen Y, Xu XY.
Abstract
AIM:
To explore the therapeutic effects of Morinda officinalis capsules (MOP) on osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats.
METHODS:
Six-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were induced for postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) by bilateral ovariectomy and divided into seven groups as follows: sham-operated group, ovariectomized (OVX) control group, OVX treated with xianlinggubao (XLGB) (270 mg·kg⁻¹·d⁻¹), OVX treated with alendronate sodium (ALN) (3 mg·kg⁻¹·d⁻¹), and OVX treated with Morinda officinalis capsule (MOP) of graded doses (90, 270 and 810 mg·kg⁻¹·d⁻¹) groups. Oral treatments were administered daily on the 4(th) week after ovariectomy and lasted for 12 weeks. The bone mineral density was evaluated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), alkaline phosphatase (AKP), and osteocalcin (OC) levels in the serum and plasma were determined by standard colorimetric and enzyme immunoassays methods. Bone biomechanical properties and morphological parameters were analyzed by three-point bending test and histomorphometry respectively.
RESULTS:
Morinda officinalis capsules at all doses were able to significantly prevent the OVX-induced loss of bone mass due to diminishing serum AKP and TRAP levels while elevating OC level in the plasma. Morinda officinalis capsules also enhanced the bone strength and prevented the deterioration of trabecular microarchitecture.
CONCLUSION:
Morinda officinalis capsules possess potent anti-osteoporotic activity in OVX rats which could be an effective treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis.
Chin J Nat Med. 2014 Mar;12(3):204-12. doi: 10.1016/S1875-5364(14)60034-0. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Extracts of Morinda officinalis and Its Hairy Roots Attenuate Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Chronic Ulcerative Colitis in Mice by Regulating Inflammation and Lymphocyte Apoptosis
Jian Liang, Jiwang Liang, Hairong Hao, Huan Lin, Peng Wang, Yanfang Wu, Xiaoli Jiang, Chaodi Fu, Qian Li, Ping Ding, Huazhen Liu, Qingping Xiong, Xiaoping Lai, Lian Zhou,* Shamyuen Chan,* and Shaozhen Hou,*
Abstract
Morinda officinalis is beneficial for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The hairy root with higher genetic and biochemical stability cultured from M. officinalis might have similar effects to treat IBD. In this study, the main chemical composition of the root extracts of M. officinalis (MORE) native plant and the hairy root extract of M. officinalis (MOHRE) was compared by quantitative HPLC. The difference of their therapeutic effects and potential mechanism was evaluated using 3% dextran sodium sulfate-induced chronic colitis in mice and T lymphocytes in vitro. The results found that MOHRE possesses many specific peaks unobserved in the chromatogram of native plant. The content of iridoids in the MORE (3.10%) and MOHRE (3.01%) is somewhat similar but quite different for their anthraquinones’s content (0.14 and 0.66%, respectively). Despite all this, treatment with both MORE and MOHRE significantly attenuated the symptoms of colitis, including diarrhea, body weight loss, colon shortening, histological damage, and decreased inflammatory cytokine levels. In addition, they dose-dependently increased the apoptosis of T lymphocyte in vivo and in vitro. And, the differences for treatment effects on ulcerative colitis (UC) between them both in this study were mostly insignificant. The results demonstrated that the effects of MORE and MOHRE for the treatment of UC are similar, although there are a few difference on their chemical composition, indicating the hairy root cultured from M. officinalis might be able to replace its native plant on treatment of UC. The successful derivation of a sustainable hairy root culture provides a model system to study the synthetic pathways for bioactive metabolites, which will make the use of bioreactors to largely produce traditional medicine become reality.
Front Immunol. 2017; 8: 905. Published online 2017 Aug 2. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00905
PMCID: PMC5539173 PMID: 28824631 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Morinda officinalis How. - A comprehensive review of traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology.
Zhang JH, Xin HL, Xu YM, Shen Y, He YQ, Hsien-Yeh, Lin B, Song HT, Juan-Liu, Yang HY, Qin LP, Zhang QY, Du J.
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:
The medicinal plant Morinda officinalisHow. (MO) and its root have long been used in traditional medicines in China and northeast Asia as tonics for nourishing the kidney, strengthening the bone and enhancing immunofunction in the treatment of impotence, osteoporosis, depression and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and dermatitis.
AIM OF THE REVIEW:
This review aims to sum up updated and comprehensive information about traditional usage, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of MO and provide insights into potential opportunities for future research and development of this plant.
METHODS:
A bibliographic investigation was performed by analyzing the information available on MO in the internationally accepted scientific databases including Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science, SciFinder, Google Scholar, Yahoo, Ph.D. and M.Sc. dissertations in Chinese. Information was also obtained from some local and foreign books on ethnobotany and ethnomedicines.
RESULTS:
The literature supported the ethnomedicinal uses of MO as recorded in China for various purposes. The ethnomedical uses of MO have been recorded in many regions of China. More than 100 chemical compounds have been isolated from this plant, and the major constituents have been found to be polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, anthraquinones and iridoid glycosides. Crude extracts and pure compounds of this plant are used as effective agents in the treatment of depression, osteoporosis, fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, and infertility due to their anti-depressant, anti-osteoporosis, pro-fertility, anti-radiation, anti-Alzheimer disease, anti-rheumatoid, anti-fatigue, anti-aging, cardiovascularprotective, anti-oxidation, immune-regulatory, and anti-inflammatory activities. Pharmacokinetic studies have demonstrated that the main components of MO including monotropein and deacetyl asperulosidic acid are distributed in various organs and tissues. The investigation on acute toxicity and genotoxicity indicated that MO is nontoxic. There have no reports on significant adverse effect at a normal dose in clinical application, but MO at dose of more than 1000mg/kg may cause irritability, insomnia and unpleasant sensations in individual cases.
CONCLUSION:
MO has emerged as a good source of traditional medicines. Some uses of this plant in traditional medicines have been validated by pharmacological investigations. However, the molecular mechanism, structure-activity relationship, and potential synergistic and antagonistic effects of its multi-components such as polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, anthraquinones and iridoid glycosides need to be further elucidated, and the structural feature of polysaccharides also need to be further clarified. Sophisticated analytical technologies should be developed to comprehensively evaluate the quality of MO based on HPLC-fingerprint and content determination of the active constituents, knowing that these investigations will help further utilize this plant.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2018 Mar 1;213:230-255. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2017.10.028. Epub 2017 Nov 7. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Morinda Officinalis Polysaccharides Stimulate Hypothalamic GnRH Secretion in Varicocele Progression
Zhu Zhu, Feng Huang, Feng Wang, Yonghong Zhang, Xiaozhen Zhao, and Wei Wang
Correspondence should be addressed to Xiaozhen Zhao; zxz8338@163.com and Wei Wang; wwfjmu@163.com
Abstract
Varicoceles (VCs) are the predominant cause of male infertility and are a risk factor for chronic venous disease. Morinda officinalis (M. officinalis) is a traditional Chinese medicine used to tonify the kidney and strengthen yang. In this study, we evaluated the effects of water-soluble polysaccharides extracted from M. officinalis (MOPs) on gonadotropin-release hormone (GnRH) secretion in a classic experimental left VC (ELV) rat model. Intragastric administration of MOPs at a dose ranging from 50 mg kg−1 to 100 mg kg−1 facilitated improvements in sperm parameters and seminiferous epithelial structures, modulated serum hormone profiles, and stimulated GnRH synthesis and release in the hypothalamus. MOPs also promoted spinogenesis and functional spine maturation in the arcuate nuclei (Arc), wherein they acted mainly on Kiss1 and GnRH neurons. Moreover, MOP-mediated Kisspeptin-GPR54 pathway upregulation and MAPK phosphorylation activation may have been responsible for increases in GnRH synthesis and release. Collectively, the findings of this study indicate that MOPs were effective in stimulating GnRH secretion, possibly by upregulating the Kiss1/GPR54 pathway and enhancing synaptic plasticity, and that MOPs can serve as a therapy for early VCs.
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Volume 2017, Article ID 9057959, 12 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/9057959 hindawi.com