There's a strange fruit that's being marketed for its purported health properties. Unfortunately, its name and smell may make it repulsive for all but the most stoic health food nuts. What is this strange delicacy? It's the vomit fruit. Could there be a more unappealing name for a fruit?
Where does the vomit fruit get its strange designation? Its official scientific name is Morinda citrifolia or the Tahitian noni shrub. It's also called the Indian mulberry fruit, cheesefruit, and, of course, the vomit fruit. It derives its name from the foul smelling chemicals it produces. These noxious smelling chemicals include hexanoic acid and ictanoic acid which serve as defense mechanisms to keep predators from consuming it. As you expect, this is a pretty powerful defense mechanism.
One of its main predators of the vomit fruit is the fly. Most flies skillfully avoid the fruit of this malodorous plant since the toxins produced by the plant kill the flies rather quickly. There is one exception to this rule in the insect world. The Dresophila sechellia fly can't seem to resist feasting on the noxious smelling vomit plant. Because scientists were curious as to why the vomit plant appealed so strongly to Dresophila sechellia, they carried out a study which showed the fly's preference for the plant is genetic.
You would think humans would be smarter than Dresophila sechellia, but this isn't necessarily the case. The juice of the vomit plant is actually being marketed to humans as noni juice which is purported to have health benefits. The juice from the vomit plant is thought to have anti-inflammatory properties and may be effective in stopping the growth of certain cancers. Interestingly enough, the Australian aborigines and the people of Southeast Asia eat the fruit of this plant raw and seasoned with salt and just a touch of curry. This is certainly a strange food preference.
Are the health benefits of the vomit plant worth the malodorous smell and distinctive taste? For at least some health fanatics, this seems to be the case, but it's hard to imagine finding this unusual fruit on a buffet line.
