Xanthones

Xanthones are found in many fruits and are powerful antioxidants hailing from a family of phytonutrients. Of the over 200 xanthones that have been found and classified by scientists, 40 of them can be found in the mangosteen fruit.

Xanthones were first discovered by scientists, when they were studying the health benefits of mangosteen, on the basis of its medicinal uses. It was back in the 1970s that scientists started research on mangosteen and as they found more and more nutritional benefits of mangosteen xanthones, the pace of its research started picking up.

Xanthones in mangosteen basically have antioxidant properties that work as a balance for the free radicals found in the body. Although free radicals are potentially harmful, it is the natural substances found in the body that tends to build up and cause diseases such as cancer and heart diseases.

Xanthones tend to travel throughout the body and in the process, mop up and absorb the free radicals they find on their way. In this way, the body can end up much cleaner and healthier than before.

The various mangosteen xanthones include alpha-mangostin, gamma-mangostin, garcinone, beta-mangostin, garcinone a, garcinone d, garcinone c, gartanin and mangostanol. These and the other xanthones in mangosteen have anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsant, antitumor, anti-allergic and anti-platelet characteristics.

No other fruit has as many xanthones as mangosteen. These xanthones are very helpful in the fight against cancer with research proving that mangosteen xanthones help suppress the growth of tumors and have anticancer effects on liver, lung and gastric cancer cells.

Xanthones are also effective in lowering LDL levels and help protect LDL from getting into contact with free radicals and thus prevents the oxidization and attaching of radicals on arterial walls, causing atherosclerosis.

Xanthones also helps lower blood pressure, fights fatigue, prevents stomach ulcers, is used for treating various skin conditions like eczema, helps in losing weight, reduces pain, builds the body's immunity system and helps combat diarrhea.

In fact, many health practitioners suggest regular drinking of mangosteen drinks can help provide relief from conditions such as depression, anxiety, dementia, joint problems, seborrhea, psoriasis, chronic fatigue syndrome, ulcers and diabetes.

Mangosteen fruit has its origins from the Moluccas and Sunda islands, and has been used by the people of Thailand, China and Philippines for a long time for treating various ailments. For many years it was difficult to mass market the mangosteen fruit in products due to obstacles that included the fact it was illegal to directly import the mangosteen fruit because of government regulations in several western countries that worked at quarantining the Asian fruit fly. Furthermore, mangosteen trees do not grow well in some of the climates found in the United States. In fact, most attempts at growing the fruit here have resulted in failure. But with the idea of letting the world taste and use the benefits of mangosteen fruit and its xanthones, it seems governments have adjusted their regulations, and mangosteen juices and preserves are now more readily available on the market and can be bought online or through mangosteen juice distributors.