Many years ago, I watched a television program about the health benefits of mangosteen juice. I saw people saying that mangosteen juice “miraculously” treated their diseases. They claimed that after drinking mangosteen juice for several weeks, their illnesses gone. They were very thankful that they met mangosteen juice as the best alternative for very expensive synthetic drugs with serious side effects. The Philippines is among the top countries in the world where prescription drugs are terribly expensive. Poor people who are living in less than one dollar a day cannot afford very expensive drugs so they look at alternative medications which are cheap and hopefully effective. Mangosteen juice is one of the most popular food supplements in the Philippines and the world. Although categorized as food supplement, many people consider mangosteen as treatment for various diseases.
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Even though I’m living in the Philippines where mangosteens grow, I never experience tasting mangosteen pulp until I was college senior. My classmate gave us reddish purple and round mangosteen fruits to eat. We were allowed to devour all her mangosteens, but we should return back to her the pericarps or rinds for her thesis. She and her thesis partner are studying the anti-inflammatory properties of mangosteen pericarp extract in mice. They concluded that mangosteen extract has significant anti-inflammatory effect in mice. I really enjoyed the mangosteen pulp which has sweet and citrusy flavor. I even asked for more.
Scientifically known as Garcinia mangostana, mangosteen is a native plant in Southeast Asian countries including my beloved country, the Philippines. The plant grows 20 to 80 feet tall and produces round fruits at maturity. The fruit is green when unripe and reddish purple when ripe. For many centuries, mangosteen fruit has traditionally used by Asians to treat skin diseases, stomach problems, infections, and other diseases.
The pericarp of mangosteen contains large amount of xanthone – one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants are substances that detoxify our body from harmful chemicals like free radicals. Free radicals are unstable and highly reactive compounds that damage biological structures such as cell membrane and DNA. Damage to these important cellular structures is associated to cancer, cardiovascular diseases, degenerative diseases (e.g. dementia and Alzheimer’s disease), autoimmune disorders, premature aging, and other human diseases. The amount of antioxidants in our system should exceed the amount free radicals to prevent diseases.
Preliminary studies show that mangosteen extract exhibits anti-tumor or anti-cancer properties in test tube. Mangosteen’s anticancer property is attributed to antioxidants found in it.
I said earlier that my college classmate found that mangosteen extract has anti-inflammatory action. Scientists have the same finding in their researches. Therefore, mangosteen can be used to cure inflammation associated with muscle fatigue, arthritis, and rheumatism.
Mangosteen extract also has antimicrobial properties so it can be used to treat gonorrhea, cystitis, dysentery, urinary tract infection, and other infections.
Antioxidants in mangosteen rind extract can boost our immune system to prevent infection and hasten recovery from infection.[ad#afterpost]