Noni is sometimes called a "starvation fruit", implying that it was used by indigenous peoples as emergency food during times of famine.[6] Despite its strong smell and bitter taste, the fruit was nevertheless eaten as a famine food,[7] and, in some Pacific Islands, even as a staple food, either raw or cooked.[8] Southeast Asians and Australian Aboriginals consume the fruit raw with salt or cook it with curry.[9] The seeds are edible when roasted. In Thai cuisine, the leaves (known as bai-yo) are used as a green 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 somtam.