Garcinia mangostana L. - Clusiaceae - purple mangosteen, Mangostane

Evergreen tree, 6-20m tall, native to Indonesia (Maluku); widely cultivated in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. „Mature fruit purple-red, sometimes yellow-brown spotted, globose, 5-8 cm in diam., smooth. Seeds 4 or 5 or more, pulp white, juicy, fleshy.“ http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200014177

„The fruit of the mangosteen is sweet and tangy, juicy, somewhat fibrous, with fluid-filled vesicles (like the flesh of citrus fruits), with an inedible, deep reddish-purple colored rind (exocarp) when ripe. In each fruit, the fragrant edible flesh that surrounds each seed is botanically endocarp, i.e., the inner layer of the ovary.“ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_mangosteen

Major volatiles of G.mangostana L. var Native were 2,2-dimethyl-4-octanal (36%), E-2-hexenal (19%), benzaldehyde (12%), (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol (7%), hexyl-n-valerate (5%), 1,4-pentadiene, and 2-methyl-1,3-buten-2-ol.
[Postharvest survey of volatile compounds in five tropical fruits using headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME). Laohakunjit, N., Kerdchoechuen, O., Matta, F. B., Silva, J. L., Holmes, W. E., HortScience, Vol.42(2), 2007, 309-314]

The fruit hulls of G.mangostana contain xanthones like mangostin (α,β,γ), 1-isomangostin, 3-isomangostin, and gartanin. Of all found xanthones, α-mangostin had the highest activitiy against methicillin resistant Staph.aureus strains.
[Antimicrobial activities of chemical constituents from Garcinia mangostana Linn. Mahabusarakam, W., Wiriyachitra, P., Phongpaichit, S., J Sci Soc Thailand, Vol.12(4), 1986, 239-242] http://www.scienceasia.org/1986.12.n4/v12_239_242.pdf

An extract of G.mangostana had a strong inhibitory effect on Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis and a possible alternative treatment for acne.
[Antimicrobial effects of Thai medicinal plants against acne-inducing bacteria. Chomnawang, M. T., Surassmo, S., Nukoolkarn, V. S., Gritsanapan, W., Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol.101(1), 2005, 330-333]

„Mangosteen is known as „the queen of fruits” because it is one of the best tasting tropical fruits. The pericarp of mangosteen-fruit has been used as a medicinal agent by Southeast Asians for centuries in the treatment of skin infections and wounds, amoebic dysentery, etc. In Ayurvedic medicine the pericarp of mangosteen-fruit has wide use against inflammation and diarrhea, and cholera and dysentery.“
[Medicinal properties of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana). Pedraza-Chaverri, J., Cárdenas-Rodríguez, N., Orozco-Ibarra, M., Pérez-Rojas, J. M., Food and chemical toxicology, Vol.46(10), 2008, 3227-3239] http://www.zoranvolleyart.si/images/Mango/01.pdf

„Unfortunately, the marketing hype about mangosteen reached levels of dishonest advertisement and misleading claims about the products. An internet search resulted in numerous hits (3.5 million for ‘mangosteen’), which contain extensive lists of the benefits related to the use of mangosteen preparations or juice. The common approach of companies behind those claims for stating the benefits of the products, is a search in public health-related databases with queries such as ‘Xanthones’ or ‘Garcinia mangostana’ and linking them…
Extracts and constituents of G. mangostana may have considerable clinical potential in humans and need to be studied further in in vivo models and ultimately in clinical studies.“
[Garcinia mangostana L.: a phytochemical and pharmacological review. Obolskiy, D., Pischel, I., Siriwatanametanon, N., Heinrich, M., Phytotherapy Research, Vol.23(8), 2009, 1047-1065] http://www.academia.edu/download/33489546/Obolskiy_et_al-Mangosteen-PTR-27-2009.pdf

Hoola van Nooten,B., Fleurs, fruits et feuillages choisis de l’ille de Java: peints d’apres nature, t.16 (1880)
http://plantgenera.org/species.php?id_species=452970