Centuries of Practice
Practitioners have known these plants work through centuries of observation and practice.
Fermented noni and māmaki tea have been medicine in Hawaiʻi for generations. Long before scientists understood the chemistry, people knew these plants worked. That knowledge came from centuries of observation, experimentation, and practice.
Now University of Hawaiʻi researcher Dr. Nan Jiang, an assistant professor in UH Mānoa's College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience, wants to understand why. He's leading the first study to map the genetics and chemistry of noni, māmaki, and moringa, plants long valued for their medicinal properties.
The goal isn't to reinvent traditional medicine. It's to understand how these plants naturally produce the compounds people have relied on for generations. That knowledge could help farmers grow healthier, more resilient crops through selective breeding and better growing practices, without genetic modification.
For māmaki, the research goes beyond medicine. The native plant is the host for the endangered Kamehameha butterfly, and many Hawaiʻi Island farms grow it beneath koa and ʻōhiʻa forests. Stronger māmaki could support both local agriculture and native ecosystems.
Traditional knowledge pointed researchers to the plants. Modern science is helping explain how they work. If those discoveries strengthen Hawaiʻi's farms and forests, everyone stands to benefit. Let's make sure that happens!