The dark, purple rind (the Pericarp) of the Mangosteen can be dried and ground, then used to ward off infections both internal and external. Poultices of the Mangosteen fruit were used to treat parasitic skin infections. An extract from the pulp of the fruit was used to control fever.

Mangosteen is packed full of xanthones, polysaccharides, catechins, polyphenols, minerals and vitamins.

Today Mangosteen is available to the world, and most of the scientific research on this fruit involves about a half dozen of the two dozen known xanthones in this fruit.

Pharmaceutical drug companies would love to isolate, synthesize and then patent these substances. Then they could charge consumers their normal 50,000% markup on the resulting drugs.

Xanthones are a class of polyphenolic compounds that commonly occur in plants and have been shown to have extensive biological and pharmacological activities. Recently, the pharmacological properties of xanthones in the cardiovascular system have attracted great interest.

Some of the most important xanthones found in Mangosteen include:

• Alpha-mangostin
• Beta-mangostin
• Gamma-mangostin
• Garcinone
• Garcinone A
• Garcinone C
• Garcinone D
• Mangostanol
• Gartanin

Known Benefits of Xanthones

• Help to fight cancer - xanthone garcinone E shows significant anticancer effects in terms of liver, lung, and gastric cancer cells.
• Antimicrobial effects in terms of fighting MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), which is a bacterial strain known for its tenacious resistance to pharmacologic antibiotics.
• Xanthones have also been scientifically proven to help lower LDL, the bad cholesterol, by protecting the LDL from coming into contact with free radicals, thus leaving it unable to oxidize and attach to arterial walls and cause atherosclerosis.

Mangosteen (Pericarp) is one of the 22 Fruit SuperFoods found in SenSatiaFruit

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