Did you know that there are many benefits of mangosteen fruit?
The benefits of mangosteen have been almost unknown to health practitioners in the United States, mostly, because it was banned for years. It was thought to attract the Asian fruit fly, but in 2007, the ban was lifted and mangosteen fruit was legal to import. New studies have shown that mangosteen has some amazing benefits and are showing promising results in treating some common ailments.
But What is Mangosteen?
Mangosteen fruit (Garcinia mangostana) grows on an evergreen tree in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. Although its name is similar to the mango fruit, they are not related in any way.
Mangosteens are also known as the “Queen of Fruits”. In the late 1800s, some European colonists stumbled upon the Mangosteen trees in Southeast Asia and discovered the delicious fruit. The explorers tried desperately to bring the fruit back to England but it spoiled very quickly. It was said that someone started a rumor that Queen Victoria would bestow knighthood on any man who brought her the delicious fruit. No one knows for certain if the rumors were true, but it was enough to earn mangosteen the “Queen of Fruits” title. (National Geographic)
The mangosteen is about the size of a tangerine, and are purplish in color when ripe. The dark, thick, leather-like rind is woody and hard. the pericarp, and it surrounds the white creamy flesh inside. The flesh is segmented like oranges and has a sweet flavor much like the flavor of peaches or strawberries. Mangosteen seeds are buried inside the flesh and are bitter.
The mangosteen fruit, its juice, and its rind are all used to promote health.
The History of Mangosteen
The benefits of mangosteen fruit have been known for centuries in Asia.
The purple rind has been used as a natural medicine for generations. The outer layer or hull, also known as the pericarp, was ground and used for skin disorders, insect bites, wounds, and infections. Tea made from this rind was used for digestive disorders, including diarrhea, and urinary infections.
Drs in other countries have been researching the benefits of mangosteen for many years, but only recently has it come to the attention of modern-day Drs. of western medicine. More research has been done on the benefits of mangosteen, since the ban was lifted in 2007 and recent studies have proven the many benefits of mangosteen.
What Makes Mangosteen So Good for Us?
The use of mangosteen for medicinal purposes has been popular in Asia for centuries, but what about it has captured the attention of Western Medicine?
Only recently, have studies shown that mangosteen fruit has a group of phytochemicals known as xanthones.
The xanthones found in the pericarp of the fruit is where the magic lives. The pericarp is the thick reddish/brown part of the fruit that surrounds the white flesh in the picture below.
These phytonutrients aid in strengthening the cell walls and help prevent against attacks from free radicals thus helping to enhance our immune systems and fight disease and infections.
Benefits of Mangosteen
Mangosteen has an overwhelming amount of amazing benefits, but I will list the most common, and most important ones.
1. Anti-inflammatory
Alpha and gamma-mangostins are two phytonutrients found in mangosteen that specifically have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. In one study (1), these xanthones were found to be bioactive substances with anti-inflammatory effects.
2. Fights Cancer
The fruit of the mangosteen has at least 20 known xanthones. At least one of them, the alpha-Mangostin, has been found to have shown anti-cancer properties. Studies show that mangosteen has promising potential for fighting cancer.
One study (2), alpha-Mangostin was shown to have “a cancer preventative effect in rats...”
Colon Cancer
A study investigating mangosteen effects on colon cancer (3) suggested “xanthones extract as a potential anti-colon cancer candidate.”
Prostate Cancer
Tumor growth studies for prostate cancer (4) suggested that the xanthone a-mangostin slowed tumor growth and may be a “novel agent” in the treatment of Prostate cancer.
Breast Cancer
In 2016 the International Journal of Oncology published a study(5) that considered a-mangostin’s effect on human breast cancer cells and suggested that “α-mangostin may be used as a food supplement or a potential therapeutic compound for breast cancer.”
Bladder Cancer
A study (6) that considered the effects of gartanin in mangosteen juice on human bladder cancer, concluded that “treatment of bladder cancer cell lines T24 and RT4 resulted in a marked suppression”…and that together, these results suggested that gartanin is a multiple targeting agent that is suitable for further study into its chemopreventive properties for human urinary bladder cancer.”
Anti-cancer agents
An article published in the Internal Journal of Molecular Sciences(7) in 2008 discussed the anti-cancer effects of xanthones from the pericarps of the mangosteen fruit.
Still another article (8) was published that discussed the “remarkable potential as an anticancer agent.”
3. Aids in Digestion
Mice that were caused to have Ulcerative colitis (9) were restored when treated with mangosteen.
Diarrhea, dysentery and other digestive disorders, have been treated with mangosteen for centuries.
4.Helps Heal Skin Disorders
These two studies (10) (11)showed mangosteen’s microbial effect on acne.
Anti-skin cancer agent studies (12), and anti-invasive activities study (13) shows promise in using mangosteen to treat skin cancers.
Anti-microbial effects of mangosteen used to treat bacteria induced acne studies (14) show mangosteen could be a possible treatment for acne.
5. Boosts Heart Health
The protective effect of a-mangostin on rats with cardiac hypoxic injury study (15) showed mangosteen as ” a potential therapeutic agent for cardiac hypoxic injury.”
Another study shows (16) “α-Mangosteen induces a protective effect in postischemic heart associated to the prevention of oxidative stress secondary to reperfusion injury.”
This research (17) looked at the cardioprotective effect of alpha-mangostin and tissue defense systems during ISO-induced myocardial infarction in rats.
6. Antioxidant
An article published in Pharmaceutical Biology (18) in 2010, cited a study evaluating the antioxidant properties of the mangosteen pericarp.
The antioxidant and neuroprotective activities of the mangosteen fruit hull were investigated in this study (19) and found that the hull of mangosteen fruit may contain potent neuroprotectants.
How to Consume Mangosteen
Mangosteen fruit can be eaten raw but is very hard to come by in the United States. There are prepared mangosteen powders that can be used in smoothies, and some companies also sell mangosteen in capsule form.
Mangosteen Juices
Drinking mangosteen juice is an easy way to reap the benefits of mangosteen. There are many health food providers that offer mangosteen juice, but buyer beware. Don’t be fooled into purchasing high dollar juices that have only trace amounts of mangosteen in them. Several popular companies sell juices marketed as mangosteen juice but are nothing more than glorified apple or pear juice with a teaspoon of mangosteen, so don’t be sucked in by their clever marketing schemes.
100% Mangosteen Juice with Pericarp
When using mangosteen for preventive medicine, or especially when adding it to your treatment regimens of disorders or diseases, make sure you buy 100% pure mangosteen with no other juices added. Also, remember that most of the magic is in the hull of the mangosteen, so check that the label says it contains pericarp or whole fruit. The juices with pulp looking “debris” in them contain pureed pericarp and have the most medicinal value.
My Personal Favorite Brands
It’s worth mentioning here, that I do not sell mangosteen juice or any other mangosteen products, but have used this juice for many years and recommend certain brands. I am in no way an affiliate for any of these products and do not profit in any way from recommending them.
Googling mangosteen juice by the brand names will turn up several stores for purchasing these brands. Also, I have purchased all of these brands in health food stores at one time or another.
I have listed below, my favorite brands in the order of my personal preference:
Genesis Mangosteen 100 (old and new packaging shown)
Dynamic Health Mangosteen Gold
Vitacost Organic Certified
100% Mangosteen Juice
The National Library of Medicine published studies that were referenced in this article. They are as listed:
1).https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18029076
2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19325754
3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22818000
4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22159229
5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26892433
6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23682785
7) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2635669/#
8) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21902651
9) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28601023
10) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17644272
11) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20645837
12) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28582759
13) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22993323
14) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16009519
15) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29512772
16) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21942497
17) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17994576
18) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20645756
19) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16763395
Medical Disclaimer. … Do not substitute this content for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
This article is for information purposes only and it is the responsibility of the reader to research on his/her own before starting any treatment plan.
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