Mangosteen is a fruit grown in Thailand and Myanmar whose rind (the pericarp) appears to have some medicinal properties. The hull of the fruit has been used for many years in Southeast Asia as a medicine for skin infection, wounds, and diarrhea, and recently interesting properties are slowly being revealed. However, human trials are not available regarding the solo benefit of mangosteen juice or supplements, therefore we currently don't know the benefits of the plant in terms of usefulness in clinical practice until studies are completed. However, the early research in test tubes looks promising.

What's in it?
Mangosteen fruit has a number of substances, the most prominent being xanthones, a group of compounds that have antioxidant and other potent physiological properties.

buy Mangosteen pill 500 mg (whole fruit) - Organic, direct from Thailand

Made from the highest quality ORGANIC mangosteen fruit material available, direct from Thailand. The actual active ingredients, xanthones, are mostly in the rind and seed, and less in the fruit flesh. We use the whole fruit - rind, seed and flesh - in order to provide you with the full spectrum of 20 or more xanthones.

Supplement Facts:
Mangosteen 500 mg (Garcinia mangostana whole fruit, 95 percent is pericarp or rind)




Buy Mangosteen supplements, acai, pomegranate, and other fruit extracts
Consider other healthy herbs and supplements with high antioxidant potential, including acai berry extract, curcumin extract from turmeric, goji berry extract, graviola herb, pomegranate fruit and olive leaf extract.

Suggested use: As a dietary supplement, take one mangosteen capsule daily or as recommended by your health care provider.

Benefit and review
At this point almost all studies have been done in a laboratory and there is little human research to indicate how mangosteen supplements or juice, by itself, would influence the prevention or how it would be useful in the treatment of various cancers, including breast, lung, and liver, or what other benefits the compounds in mangosteen, such as xanthones, would have when ingested as a supplement. If you come across claims that this fruit has been proven to have health benefit in humans, be skeptical. It may be true, but until actual long term human trials are done, we cannot be certain about the full range of its benefits and side effects.

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What does the research say?
Mangosteen has compounds with antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-tumor activity. Laboratory testing thus far indicates that extracts have activity against several cancer cell lines including breast, liver, and leukemia. It also appears to have anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory properties.

Acne vulgaris
Antimicrobial effects of Thai medicinal plants against acne-inducing bacteria.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2005.
Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis have been recognized as pus-forming bacteria triggering an inflammation in acne. The present study was conducted to evaluate antimicrobial activities of Thai medicinal plants against these etiologic agents of acne vulgaris. Crude extracts were tested for antimicrobial activities by disc diffusion and broth dilution methods. The results from the disc diffusion method showed that 13 medicinal plants could inhibit the growth of Propionibacterium acnes. Among those, Senna alata, Eupatorium odoratum, Garcinia mangostana, and Barleria lupulina had strong inhibitory effects. Mangosteen would be an interesting topic for further study and possibly for an alternative treatment for acne.

Allergy
Inhibitions of histamine release and prostaglandin E2 synthesis by mangosteen, a Thai medicinal plant.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2002.
We found that the ethanol extract of mangosteen inhibited IgE-mediated histamine release from RBL-2H3 cells with greater potency than the water extract of Rubus suavissimus that has been used as an anti-allergy crude drug in Japan.

Anti-inflammatory
Inhibition of cyclooxygenase and prostaglandin E2 synthesis by gamma-mangostin, a xanthone derivative in mangosteen, in C6 rat glioma cells.
Biochem Pharmacol. 2002.
We examined the effect of gamma-mangostin, on arachidonic acid  cascade in C6 rat glioma cells. This study is a first demonstration that gamma-mangostin, a xanthone derivative from mangosteen, directly inhibits COX activity.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of multiple dosages of a proprietary mangosteen Juice blend on indicators of inflammation and antioxidant levels in obese patients with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. The study included four groups including placebo and three difference doses of the test product, XanGo Juice: 3, 6 or 9 oz twice daily. There were no side effects reported in any of the groups and none of the laboratory or EKG safety assessments indicated clinically significant changes for any subject. In this pilot, dose-finding study, a proprietary mangosteen juice blend (XanGo Juice) reduced CRP levels compared to placebo for those taking the highest dose of 18 oz per day. Nutr J. 2009. Evaluation of Mangosteen juice blend on biomarkers of inflammation in obese subjects: a pilot, dose finding study. Medicus Research LLC, Northridge, CA, USA.
   Comments by Dr. Sahelian: 18 ounces a day provides too many calories and too much fructose. I, personally, do not see the need to ingest so much fruit juice a day.

Atherosclerosis
Mangostin inhibits the oxidative modification of human low density lipoprotein.
Free Radic Res. 1995.
Mangostin is acting as a free radical scavenger to protect the LDL from oxidative damage in this in vitro system.

Cancer prevention or treatment
Antiproliferative activity of Thai medicinal plant extracts on human breast adenocarcinoma cell line.
Fitoterapia. 2004.
Ethanolic extracts of selected nine Thai medicinal plants were tested for antiproliferative activity against SKBR3 human breast adenocarcinoma cell line using MTT assay. Mangosteen showed the most potent activity.

Breast cancer
Antiproliferation, antioxidation and induction of apoptosis by Garcinia mangostana on SKBR3 human breast cancer cell line.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2004.
This study was designed to determine the antiproliferative, apoptotic and antioxidative properties of crude methanolic extract from the pericarp of Garcinia mangostana using human breast cancer (SKBR3) cell line as a model system. SKBR3 cells were cultured in the presence of mangosteen extract at various concentrations. It  was found to have strong antiproliferation, potent antioxidation and induction of apoptosis which indicates its potential for cancer chemoprevention.

Leukemia
Induction of apoptosis by xanthones from mangosteen in human leukemia cell lines.
J Nat Prod. 2003.
We examined the effects of six xanthones from the pericarps of Garcinia mangostana, on the cell growth inhibition of human leukemia cell line HL60. All xanthones displayed growth inhibitory effects, especially alpha-mangostins.

Fungal infection
Evaluation of the antifungal activity of natural xanthones from Garcinia mangostana and their synthetic derivatives.
J Nat Prod. 1997.
The antifungal activity of several xanthones and some derivatives of mangostin against three phytopathogenic fungi, Fusarium oxysporum vasinfectum, Alternaria tenuis, and Dreschlera oryzae, has been evaluated. The natural xanthones showed good inhibitory activity against the three fungi.

HIV
Active constituents against HIV-1 protease from Mangosteen.
Planta Med. 1996.
The ethanol extract showed potent inhibitory activity against HIV-1 protease, particularly mangostin and gamma-mangostin.

Liver cancer
Garcinone E, a xanthone derivative, has potent cytotoxic effect against hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines.
Planta Med. 2002.
We extracted and purified 6 xanthone compounds from the rinds (peel) of the fruits of Garcinia mangostana, and then tested the cytotoxic effects of these compounds on a panel of 14 different human cancer cell lines including 6 hepatoma cell lines. Onne of the xanthone derivatives which could be identified as garcinone E has potent cytotoxic effect on all HCC cell lines as well as on the other gastric and lung cancer cell lines included in the screen.

Pregnancy
There have not been such studies with mangosteen and pregnancy, so I don't know for sure if it is safe, but I don't suspect any major problems with eating the fruit or taking an occasional pill.

Tuberculosis
Antimycobacterial activity of prenylated xanthones from the fruits of mangosteen.
Chem Pharm Bull. 2003.
Prenylated xanthones alpha- and beta-mangostins and garcinone B exhibited strong inhibitory effect against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Benefit of fruit versus the rind
Most of the studies have focused on the pericarp, or the dark, woody rind as opposed to the fruit inside the woody rind. The pericarp contains the active xanthone compounds. The fruit itself probably has some beneficial compounds but the compounds within the mangosteen fruit have not been studied as well as the mangosteen rind.

What's in mangosteen plant?
Several compounds iappear to be active, particularly xanthones. Some of these xanthones include mangostin, mangostenol, mangostenone A, mangostenone B, trapezifolixanthone, tovophyllin B, alpha- and beta-mangostins, garcinone B, mangostinone, mangostanol, cudraxanthone G, 8-deoxygartanin, garcimangosone B, garcinone D, garcinone E, gartanin and the flavonoid epicatechin.

Dr. Sahelian's opinion
Until extensive human trials are done, it is difficult to make any recommendations regarding its benefits. Does it work well when taken as a supplement? What is the ideal dosage? How often should it be taken and for how long? Does mangosteen have side effects when taken for prolonged periods of time? Is a capsule preferable over the juice or vice versa? These are questions that still need to be answered through rigorous research.  However, some of the in vitro studies regarding mangosteen's anti-cancer potential are intriguing and certainly worthwhile to further explore. Several compounds found in in this fruit may have potential health benefits. However, until actual research human studies are done, it is difficult to know for certain what role mangosteen juice or supplements play in health and disease.

Safety, side effects, toxicity, risk
This fruit and supplement extracts appear to be safe, at least in the short term. No major side effects or safety issues have been reported in medical journals as of 2011.

I have given a free bottle of mangosteen to a friend over in Minnesota who is 90 years old and after taking it only one day got as he says got very, very sick with chills and other complications! Have you ever had this type of problem with any other person before? I myself take at least two mangosteen capsules every day and have no complications whatsoever!
   This is the first we have heard of it causing a side effect of such sort. In fact, we have not heard of a mangosteen side effect reported before.

Are there any adverse affects such as cardiac arrhythmias or drug interactions with other meds?
   Thus far we have not had feedback from consumers regarding such mangosteen side effects. It is possible unknown adverse effects could come to light over time.

The various forms sold over the counter
The active xanthones are in the pericarp (rind), and not the fruit. Mangosteen powder is sometimes added in juices to provide more xanthones to the juice mix. This "thickens" the mixture and adds more body.

There are two common mangosteen extracts; alcohol extract and water based extracts. The extracts add more xanthones to the drink mixes which is the active ingredient in mangosteen. There are various potencies of mangosteen extracts including 5 percent xanthones, 6 percent, 10 percent, and 25 percent. It is not clear which extract potency is ideal for human health and as a treatment of medical conditions.

Fruit Puree:
Whole mangosteen fruit is crushed and some water is added for pouring, and then put into plastic containers, frozen and then shipped from Thailand. Companies then add other fruit juices to improve taste.

Juice Concentrate:
This is a "just add water" concentrate mix with only tropical fruit contents. No preservatives, No artificial colors, etc.

Emails
I would like to know how the mangosteen capsule compares to the juice.
   The capsules are pure including the rind which has most of the active xanthones while the juice has mostly the fruit and other fruit juices. Mangosteen capsules and juice are different but there are no studies that compare the two in humans so it is difficult to say which is the healthier to take in the long.

Please inform me as to the considerations in selecting either your capsules (much less expensive) or Xango (a MLM offering). The Xango offering does NOT label the mg level of mangosteen per serving (1oz), however neither your capsules or their cocktail show a unit of measure for xanthone content.
   There is some confusion about "percentage of xanthones" in mangosteen, one of the best labs for xanthone measurement is with Chromedex, but they only measure "alpha, beta & gamma mangostin" actives, and they only measure "liquids"... so, it is not easy at this time to be precise and list % of xanthones per kilo of mangosteen powder or to list the amount in each capsule.

My husband has c. pneumoniea (mycoplasma) bacteria associated with CFS, and is on long term antibiotics, and has been on 10 oz a day of Xango mangosteen. Can he take 6 pills or so to equal the equivalent in juice? Have you had any experience as to whether the pills at higher doses, can actually kill the bacteria, like mycoplasm, as effectively as an antibiotic?
   We have no idea what the equivalence would be between the mangosteen capsules and the juice. There are dozens of different manufacturers and they each mix mangosteen juice with various other fruit juices (to make it more palatable), so we basically would be comparing apples and oranges. By the way, the other juices would have health benefits, too. Both mangosteen / fruit juices and powder in capsules are likely to be beneficial, but one can't say over the long run which is better. We don't know whether high doses of mangosteen can kill bacteria in the body since such human studies have not been done.

A friend of mine told me that mangosteen was helpful for arthritis. Within 10 days of taking a capsule a day, my arthritis pain was less. It's been a few months now and it seems to be still helping.

Is mangosteen good for menopause problems? What about sleep and blood pressure?
   Since no human studies have been done, we can't say whether it helps with menopause or other medical conditions.

As an family doctor, I have had many patients approach me about mangosteen. I have taken an interest in the research literature but I have some concerns and I wonder if you can help. What is your position on the controversy regarding bioavailability? Am I right in assuming that the use of dry, capsule vehicle based on or as a result of some researched, nutraceutical delivery system, reasoning? Xango liquid, juice people say: absorption is ideal in liquid and the bowel absorbs small concentrations better than larger amounts. They have no measurement studies to go by. Consumers expect a certain concentration of mangosteen in each bottle or a recommended scheduled dosing. Also Xango people say xanthones are not acid soluble. For some reason it seems too convenient a fit for ideal US marketing. It makes me want to have some evidence to support the claims.
   At this point it is too early to say whether mangosteen capsules are preferable to juice or vice versa. Plus, there are many ways to extract or use the fruit and each company may have a different method resulting in different xanthone levels or other active ingredients. Human studies with mangosteen capsules, extracts and juice are lacking hence no statements can be made with confidence regarding its role, whether in capsule form or juice, in terms of absorption, metabolism, human health and disease, and in terms of potential adverse effects. 

Could someone tell me if the mangosteen capsules are 500 milligram how many would you take to equal the three ounces that the juice recommends?
   There are quite a number of different mangosteen juice products on the market, each with its own method of processing and concentration, many juice bottles mix mangosteen with other fruit juices. It is not easy to make a comparison. One advantage of the capsules is that the calories and sugar (fructose) are avoided. Most people take one or two capsules a day although more can be taken if your doctor approves.

So I'm the kinda guy that doesn't believe in gimmicks or miracle cures, but when something works, it needs to be known. I have had surgery on both hands for carpel tunnel and have a related condition known as double crush. The same nerves that were relieved with the surgery are being crushed in my neck at C4, 5 and 6, where they originate. Surgery made life bearable, but far from perfect. The ring fingers on both hands would quite often cramp, causing me to drop whatever I was carrying at the time. I saw an ad in the Sunday paper advertising a product that contained mangosteen and seemed to be somewhat what I needed. I researched several places and settled on your mangosteen capsules. For probably 2 years now I have been taking two capsules in the morning and the finger cramps and neck pain have become very rare. As a test last year, I purposely ran out of mangosteen, and within a week, my issues had started to return. I won't try that again.
Thanks for a great product.
    This is very interesting, thanks for sharing it with us. Perhaps this herb has anti-inflammatory properties when used for long periods. Apparently, we assume, you have not had side effects.

Doctor, I thank you for my life. I was given just a few weeks in June of 2005. I started with mangosteen and it has kept my unknown flesh eating bacterium at bay since then. My bug doctor is now giving it to other patients. The manufactured highest kill rate rug that I was started on gave out and you have kept me here. My sed rate is under the 22.

Suppliers
NP Nutra developed a water soluble mangosteen 10:1 extract made at a contracted facility in Thailand, close to where the fruits are harvested. This extract is made from both the fruit and the pericarp. According to a lab test by the University of Thailand, this extract has a high ORAC score of 4088 umole TE/gram. Possible applications include functional beverages, smoothies, yogurts and ice creams.

XanGo International is a multilevel marketing company that sells products through independent distributors who are encouraged to recruit other distributors. According to a press release we received: "Our proprietary formula for XanGo Juice begins with a puree of the whole mangosteen fruit from the best farms. XanGo sources and purees the whole fresh mangosteen – pulp and rind - so you can receive the benefits the way nature intended. XanGo Juice delivers the full benefit of some 40 xanthones as well as the advantage of powerful flavonoids through true usage of the whole fruit. Some products use only the pulp, the inner part of the fruit. The use of the pulp and exclusion of the rind where most of the xanthones reside is not the “whole fruit.”
   October 2006 - FDA has warned XanGo International of Lehi, Utah, to stop the distribution of brochures which claim that its mangosteen juice drink has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-cancer, anti-ulcer, and anti-allergic effects.