Doctors & Scientists

Dr. Johannes Westendorf

Dr. Johnannes Westendorf

I am a full-time professor on toxicology and pharmacology in the Medical School at a German University. I came into contact with noni when a German author who was writing a book about TAHITIAN NONI® Juice asked me to perform toxicological tests on the juice. I did the tests and reported the results to him. Unfortunately, he cited me wrong in his book and this attracted the attention of Morinda, the manufacturer of the juice. After some clarification, they asked me to do further research on the toxicology of TAHITIAN NONI Juice. When the company decided to apply for EU "Novel Food" approval, they asked me to consult and I agreed. Together we went through the difficult, long, and expensive approval process, and we received approval in May 2003.

For me, as a toxicologist and pharmacologist, it was surprising to learn that TAHITIAN NONI Juice—although it certainly had a variety of beneficial effects for the human body—did not show any toxicity. A study performed in London with 96 human volunteers showed that amounts of 750 ml TAHITIAN NONI Juice per day over a period of four weeks did not show any side effects. The Scientific Committee of the EU stated that TAHITIAN NONI Juice is safe for human consumption. This information is important because people worldwide can now be sure that the juice is not harmful, even in large amounts.

Because we detected no toxicity in the juice, we started an extensive study of the beneficial effects of noni. One of our main fields of interest and expertise is the hormone-like action of compounds present in plants. We investigated TAHITIAN NONI Juice and also the leaves of the noni plant in our experimental models and we are now studying these properties in detail.

In October 2003 we started with an epidemiological survey on noni users.  With almost 2000 respondents so far, we have an excellent overview of why people take noni and which benefits they experience. Nearly everybody reports feeling better and more energetic. Many sleep better or have better intestinal digestion.  I too have found significant beneficial effects in my own health.
 
I feel that the noni plant is really fascinating and it will keep me and many other scientists busy for several years.

1975:  PhD in Chemistry (Thesis about action of fluorine on mineralization and caries prophylaxis)
1976:  Assistant Professor in Pharmacology, University Medical School Hamburg
1979:  The Toxilogical department was founded with Prof. Hans Marquardt as Director, change to this department (same institute).
1986:  Priv. Docent and Dr. Habil (this is a prerequisite to get the full professorship)
1995: Full Professor of Toxicology

Research in the field of: basic cancer research, side reaction of cytostatic drugs, design of non carcinogenic antitumor agents, natural compounds with genotoxic properties (example anthraquinones), natural and industrial compounds acting as hormones, environmental toxicology.