12 Amazing Health Benefits Of Mangosteen

Referred to as a 'Queen of the tropical fruit', this exotic fruit appears like round-shaped brinjal due to its deep purple skin and light green calyx. Any guess? We are talking about Mangosteen, a sweet, fragrant, tangy and delicious fruit that grows in the tropical rainforests of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, and some parts of India and Srilanka ^[1] .

Botanically, mangosteen is known as Garcinia mangostana. The interior of the fruit contains 4-10 snow-white, fleshy, and soft pulp which are arranged in triangular segments like oranges and melts like ice-cream as soon as we keep it in the mouth.

Mangosteen is known for tonnes of health benefits. It has anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, antioxidant, astringent, and antibacterial properties and is also loaded with numerous minerals and vitamins required by our body ^[2] .

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Nutritional Value Of Mangosteen

100 g of mangosteen contains 73 kcal of energy and 80.94 g of water. Other essential nutrients in mangosteen are as follows ^[3] :

• 0.41 g protein
• 17.91 g carbohydrate
• 1.8 g fibre
• 12 mg calcium
• 0.30 mg iron
• 0.069 mg copper
• 13 mg magnesium
• 8 mg phosphorus
• 48 mg potassium
• 13 mg manganese
• 7 mg sodium
• 0.21 mg zinc
• 2.9 mg vitamin C
• 0.05 mg vitamin B1
• 0.05 mg vitamin B2
• 0.286 mg vitamin B3
• 31 mcg folate
• 2 mcg vitamin A

Apart from these, it also contains 0.032 mg pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and 0.018 mg pyridoxine (vitamin B6).

Health Benefits Of Mangosteen

1. Minimizes oxidative stress: Mangosteen is a powerhouse of antioxidants as it contains essential antioxidant nutrients like folate and vitamin C. The fruit also contains xanthones, a unique plant compound with a strong antioxidant property which helps in minimizing the oxidative stress in the body ^[4] .

2. Boosts immunity: The antioxidant xanthones ^[4] and vitamin C ^[5] found in mangosteen help enhance the immune system. Xanthones fights against the free radicals while vitamin C promotes the production of white blood cells in the body.

3. Promotes heart health: Mangosteen is abundant in minerals like copper, magnesium, potassium, and manganese which help in regulating the blood pressure to promote a healthy heart. It also helps prevent the onset of other cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks ^[2] .

4. Prevents the risk of inflammatory diseases: Xanthones and the high fibre content in mangosteen prevent the risk of several disorders caused due to inflammation like asthma ^[6] , hepatitis, allergy, injury, cold, and others.

5. Maintains healthy skin: The antioxidant property of the fruit prevents the skin from ultraviolet radiation damage. Also, vitamin C and anti-microbial property of mangosteen help treat acne, giving a natural shine to the skin ^[7] .

6. Treats digestive problems: The high dietary fibre content in this purplish fruit helps to ease constipation. Also, the peel of the fruit is effective in treating diarrhoea and dysentery problems by increasing the prebiotic intake ^[8] .

7. Helps in weight management: This juicy fruit is high fibre, low calorie, zero saturated fat, and zero cholesterol. All these properties make mangosteen a healthy dietary fibre rich food that can help in weight management ^[9] .

8. Manages diabetes: Daily intake of mangosteen is efficient in reducing the insulin resistance in the body due to the presence of xanthones in the fruit. Also, the fibre content helps in stabilizing blood sugar and managing diabetes ^[9] .

9. May prevent cancer: It is asserted that, the powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of mangosteen help to fight the cancerous cells and inhibit their growth especially in stomach, breast and lung tissues. However, there's no sufficient evidence ^[10] .

10. Speeds up wound healing: The high amount of essential vitamins and minerals in mangosteen helps to speed up healing of wounds. The bark and leaves of the tree are used in making medicines for wounds due to the faster recovery property ^[11] .

11. Eases menstrual problems: Mangosteen nutrients helps to make menstruation regular in women and eases symptoms related to pre-menstruation. The fruit is used largely in Indonesia to treat menstrual-related problems ^[2] .

12. Has astringent properties: The astringent property of mangosteen provides us with a lot of health benefits. It helps in curing mouth and tongue problems like thrush (yeast infection) and aphtha (ulcer). It also cures sore in the gum area ^[12] .

How To Consume Mangosteen

On ripening, the inside white fruit of mangosteen becomes soft and mushy which makes it easy to consume. For this, all you need to do is hold the fruit in both the hands and with the help of thumbs, press gently in the middle to open the rind. Once the rind breaks, slowly pull the two halves apart and indulge in the heavenly sweet and sour taste of the fruit. You can also use a knife to give a cut around the middle of mangosteen and open it.

While opening up the fruit, be careful of the purple colour from the rind as it may stain the clothes and skin.

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Side Effects Of Mangosteen

The side effects caused by the fruit is very minimal as most of the times it is proven to be safe for people. However, a few side effects of mangosteen are as follows ^[13] :

• If taken in large quantity, it may slow down the blood clotting process.
• Its supplements may cause certain side effects in pregnant and breastfeeding women ^[14] .
• If mangosteen is taken with blood-thinning drugs, it may cause excessive bleeding.
• High dose of the fruit may lower the central nervous system response.
• It may cause sedation if taken with some herbs or drugs for depression (MENTION WHAT TYPE OF DRUGS OR HERBS).

Precautions

Few precautionary measures you must keep in mind while consuming mangosteen are as follows:

• Avoid eating the fruit if you have irritable bowel syndrome.
• Avoid the fruit if you are hypersensitive and experience certain kinds of allergy after eating it.
• Avoid giving mangosteen juice to infants.
• Avoid the fruit if you are pregnant ^[14] .

Mangosteen Jam Recipe

Ingredients

• 200 g mangosteen pulp
• 70 g sugar
• 15-17 g lime juice
• 4 g pectin, used as a gelling and thickening agent
• 50 g water

Method

• Mix mangosteen pulp with water and stir until the mixture becomes soft.
• In a separate pan, mix sugar with water and heat the mixture until they dissolve.
• Filter the sugar syrup with a fine cloth.
• Add the syrup to the mangosteen mixture along with pectin and lime juice.
• Continue stirring until it becomes thick like a jam.
• Pour the jam in a jam bottle and close the lid tightly.
• Serve it when chilled.