MANGOSTEEN FRUIT

The mangosteen tree can be found in predominantly tropical area, such as Southeast Asia in countries like Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
The fruit itself consists of the following segments:
- Pericarp (sometimes spelled Pericarb): A thick dark purple, smooth rind that encloses the fruit segments.
There are over 20 known forms of xanthones naturally occurring in the Pericarp, the two most widely studied are Alpha Mangostin and Gamma Mangostin.
- Pulp: 4 to 8 triangular segments of snow-white, soft flesh. Known for its excellent flavor, the mangosteen is proclaimed by many to be the best among tropical fruits.
The mangosteen fruit pulp is delicious and there may be a few commercial items that feature the mangosteen fruit pulp or flavor, but only the whole fruit goodness of the mangosteen — pericarp, pulp and seeds — will provide the full nutritional and healing value of mangosteen
For centuries the traditional medical healers of India, China, Malaysia, Thailand the Philippines and Vietnam have employed Mangosteen for its health benefits. In the last 150 years the plant has been transported to Africa, the Caribbean, Australia and South America where both researchers and medical practitioners alike have studied and utilized its healing and protective properties.
Occasionally gift companies will ship frozen mangosteen in for use in exotic gift baskets. These companies charge a premium price for the fruit. It is rumored that the famous Harrods department store in England brought mangosteen in and charged the equivalent of several US dollars for each piece of fruit
The mangosteen pericarp pigment is usually use as dye.

Xanthones

Xanthones are a class of plant derived nutrients or "phytonutrients." They have been demonstrated in numerous scientific studies to hold tremendous nutritional value. Found to exhibit strong antioxidant activity xanthones disarm free radicals in the body and enhance and support your body's immune system. Although xanthones exist in small amounts throughout nature, it is found in concentrated amounts in the Pericarp of the mangosteen fruit.

Asian Health Practitioners have long made use of Pericarp for a myriad of nutritional uses. The mangosteen fruit never been introduced to the Western world and much of the science behind xanthones is predominantly available to those in the medical community until recently. Many of the clinical studies on xanthones have been done in universities and testing facilities throughout Asia and have recently started to catch the attention of Western researchers.

Xanthone is not getting from our food. The xanthone family of phytonutrients can be found in trace amounts in certain fruits and vegetables, however, the pericarp of the mangosteen is the premier source where these nutrients are found in concentrated amounts. Most scientific studies actually name the mangosteen pericarp as the quintessential source of xanthones.

Studies have proof that xanthones have the ability to support in the following areas:
Cholesterol concerns 1,2
Inflammation / pain response /
Cox 2 inhibition 3
Skin conditions 4
Microbiological balance 5
Allergy support 6
Immune system support 7

Mangosteen Systemic Effects

Mangosteen is listed with 138 separate benefits. The following are the major benefits:

• Anti-fatigue
• Anti-tumor and cancer prevention
• Anti-aging
• Anti-oxidant
• Anti-lipidemic -- blood pressure lowering
• Anti-inflammatory -- prevents inflammation
• Anti-ulcer -- prevents both stomach, mouth, and bowel ulcers
• Anti-obesity -- helps with weight loss
• Anti-atherosclerotic -- prevents hardening of the arteries
• Anti-viral -- prevents or modulates fungal infections
• Anti-depressant
• Anti-Alzheimers -- helps prevent dementia
• Anti-arthritic -- prevention of arthritis
• Anti-osteoporosis -- helps prevent the loss of bone mass
• Anti-periodontic -- reduces/prevents inflammation and infection of gums
• Anti-seborrhic -- prevents seborrhea (skin disease that causes dandruff)
• Anti-calcultic -- prevents kidney stones
• Anti-pyretic -- fever lowering
• Anti-Parkinson
• Anti-diarrhea
• Anti-neuralgic -- reduces nerve pain (i.e. diabetic neuropathy of the feet, hands)
• Anti-vertigo -- prevents dizziness
• Anti-glaucomic -- prevents glaucoma
• Anti-cataract -- prevents cataracts
• Hypotensive -- blood pressure lowering
• Immunostimulant -- multiple categories cited
• Cardioprotective -- protects the heart
• Analgesic -- prevents pain
• Prevents seizure

Source: Dr. James Duke, He worked for the USDA and University of Maryland. Prolific writer and created a phytochemical and ethnobotanical database.

Food Value

Food Value Per 100 g of Edible Portion*

Calories..................60-63
Moisture................80.2-84.9 g
Protein ..................0.50-0.60 g
Fat..........................0.1-0.6 g
Total Carbohydrates........14.3-15.6 g
Total Sugars.....................16.42-16.82 g
(sucrose, glucose and fructose)
Fiber......................5.0-5.1 g
Ash........................0.2-0.23 g
Calcium................0.01-8.0 mg
Phosphorus..........0.02-12.0 mg
Iron.......................0.20-0.80 mg
Thiamine..............0.03 mg
Ascorbic Acid.......1.0-2.0 mg

*Minimum/maximum values from analyses made in the Philippines and Washington, D.C.

MANGOSTEEN

Mangosteen is called the "Queen of Fruits" in Asia and the "Food of the Gods" in the French Caribbean.

Mangosteen in it exotic colour, purple, not only i liked how it looked. it was all smooth and hard, a dark purple that was almost black, and some of them were like large stones, refusing to budge from the pressure of my hands until i had to hack away at the stubborn rind with a knife. and then the insides would be moist and red, with the fruit soft and smooth and a perfect pearly white, shot through with the tiniest red veins, like the white part of a human eye. hard to soft, dry to wet, black to red to white. i would scrape the fruit free, and there would be a thick vegetable mess under my fingernails, a dark stain on my fingerpads, and the sweetest taste in my mouth.

Prized because of its exquisite flavor

nothing can describe the taste of the mangosteen. i have never bothered to explain it. all i know is i like to eat it, eat a lot of it. i also like the filth of it, the print of its rind on my skin after i've broken it open. most fruits leave a happy, innocent wet residue, all citrusy and clear and sparkly, like dew. the mangosteen leaves a mark like blood, on the hand, on the mouth, on the tongue.