A variety of beverages (juice drinks), powders (from dried ripe or unripe fruits), cosmetic products (lotions, soaps), oil (from seeds), and leaf powders (for encapsulation or pills) have been introduced into the consumer market. and, in some
Pacific Islands, even as a staple food, either raw or cooked. Southeast Asians and Aboriginal Australians consume fresh fruit with salt or cook it with curry. The seeds are edible when roasted. In Thai cuisine, the leaves known as
bai-yo are used as a leaf vegetable and are the main ingredient of
Kaeng bai-yo, cooked with coconut milk. The fruit
luk-yo is added as a salad ingredient to some versions of green papaya salad. In Cambodia, the leaves are an essential part of the national dish
fish amok. The fruit powder contains carbohydrates and dietary fibre in moderate amounts. These macronutrients reside in the fruit pulp, as
M. citrifolia juice has sparse nutrient content.
Traditional medicine Green fruit, leaves, and root or
rhizomes might have been used in Polynesian cultures as a general tonic, in addition to its traditional place in Polynesian culture as a famine food. In 2018, a Hawaiian manufacturer of food and skincare products based on this fruit was issued an
FDA warning letter for marketing unapproved drugs and making false health claims in violation of the
US Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Dyes The fruit has traditionally been used by
Austronesian peoples mainly for producing dyes. It was carried into the Pacific Islands as canoe plants by Austronesian voyagers. Morinda bark produces a brownish-purplish dye that may be used for making
batik. In Hawaii, yellowish dye is extracted from its roots to dye cloth.
Yolngu artists at Bula'Bula Arts in
Ramingining, in central Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia, use the roots and bark of
djundom, as it is known to them, to dye the fibres of
pandanus to create a wide variety of artifacts. Applying a
mordant to the fabric before dyeing is necessary when using extracts of this plant as a dye. This process can be labor-intensive if the goal is to achieve shades and hues with the morinda dye. ==Gallery==