Incredible Facts About Mangosteen

Labeled as the "Queen of Fruits" in Asia, and "Fruit of the Gods" in the French Caribbean, Mangosteen is highly prized not only because of its exquisite flavor but most importantly due to its numerous unbelievable health benefits for humans.

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), a native of Southeast Asian countries is not related to mangoes. The fruit which comes from evergreen mangosteen tree has an almost perfectly round shape with a size of just a little bit smaller than a tennis ball. The rind of the ripe mangosteen is reddish purple in color and is used to treat many health conditions. Its flesh is white and is multi-segmented like most tropical fruits. It has a very exotic taste which can be described as delicately sweet with a very slight sourness.

Health Benefits of Mangosteen
Mangosteen has been known in Southeast Asian traditional medicine for 400 years. Different parts of the mangosteen fruit and the plant have been used by traditional medicine practitioners for the treatment of various diseases and disorders such as skin malady, which is treated with paste made out of mangosteen rind- and the powder form was used to treat dysentery. A broth made from the root of the plant is also used to regulate menstruation and a broth made out of the rind is for treating diarrhea.

Aside from the ancient knowledge passed down by practitioners of traditional medicine, recent studies discovered that mangosteen is not only rich with nutrients but truly possesses many antioxidant properties. One of the most well-known antioxidant present in mangosteen is xanthone. Xanthone is a natural chemical compounds (phytonutrients) found in various organic materials. This chemical compound extracted from the rind or pericarp of the mangosteen is used to reduce cholesterol levels, prevent hardening of the arteries and fight cancer.

One of the many proponents of the health benefits of mangosteen is Dr. J Frederic Templeman, MD, a practicing primary care physician who was board-certified both in US and in Canada. Dr. Templeman used to be unenthusiastic about natural products like mangosteen as he is an allopathic doctor (a practitioner of western medicine) but after many positive results in his own clinic, he began recommending mangosteen as the first intervention for treating some of the ailments encountered by his patients. Fully convinced after so many positive results done in his clinic, Dr. Templeman wrote a booklet about mangosteen entitled "Mangosteen, The X-Factor: A Comprehensive Look at the Health Benefits, Science and Xanthones of Garcinia Mangostana."

Soon after the global research and launching of the book by Dr. Templeman, the popularity of mangosteen as the number one antioxidant began to spread in many different parts of the world especially in the west.

Today, with the growing popularity of natural method in keeping the body healthy, more and more people prefer to use organic products over synthetically-made designer drugs. Many studies were also done to prove the medicinal value of mangosteen and other natural products that was claimed to be antioxidants. And it was indicated in one of the studies that xanthones (a phytonutrients present in mangosteen) have pharmacological properties such as anti-depressant, anti microbial, anti-fungus, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-leukemic,anti-tubercoloric, anti-diabetic and anti- ulcer. Studies also found that significant amounts of powerful anti-oxidants such as cathechins and polyphenols are present in mangosteen.

The above mentioned health facts about mangosteen are just a few of the many promising benefits one can get with regular consumption of the fruit or its products. However, since the importation of this fruit is banned in United States due to threat of Mediterranean fruit fly, its benefits is still available in the country in the form of bottled fruit juice and capsules.

- Jenine Amanda Smith