Cure-All Juices - Mangosteen

G. Douglas Andersen, DC, DACBSP, CCN

Mangosteen (Garcinia nangostana) is a fruit found on a tropical evergreen tree native to southeast Asia, especially Thailand. The tree grows from 20 to 70 feet. After 15 years, it produces a green fruit that changes to a dark purple as it ripens. The edible portion is approximately the size and shape of a small tangerine and is reportedly quite flavorful. It is surrounded by a thick fibrous hull which, along with the seeds, contains most of the beneficial phytochemicals. Mangosteen has a long history of folk medicine use in southeast Asia.

Nutrient Content
Nutritionally, mangosteen only contains trace amount of vitamins and minerals. It is, however, rich in phytochemicals including dozens from the xanthone family. There are also a number of polysaccharides that combine as a source of antioxidants.

Health Claims
The health claims for Mangosteen include antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer, anti-arrhythmic, and anti-malarial properties. Various mangosteen extracts have stopped the proliferation and in some cases have even killed various cell lines of liver cancer, breast cancer, and leukemia. In late 2006, the Food & Drug Administration warned some of the major companies that market Mangosteen that it is unfair to make claims for humans without research on humans. I did find studies that showed mangosteen extract has the ability to reduce blood pressure in anesthetized rats, reduce blood sugar in diabetic rats, inhibit COX-2 enzymes in the glioma cells of rats, reduce histamine reactions in r aorta cells of rabbits, and act as a serotonin antagonist in intracerebral ventricular cells extracted from mice.

Comment
Mangosteen is available as a juice, a concentrated frozen puree, and in capsules. In all 3 cases processing includes the non-edible nutrient dense seed & hulls. It is unfortunate that companies who market Mangosteen base their claims on laboratory studies of rodents and/or their cells. Human research is essentially nonexistent. In my opinion, I believe those who are making large amounts of income based on (unproven) health claims are in no hurry to fund studies from independent groups.

Finally, I am looking forward to writing an evidence based article that confirms any of the claims for either Mangosteen, Acai,* Goji* or Noni** (See Andersen,GD Dynamic Chirppractic __________*or__________**.

 



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