Mangosteen Juice

Archive for November, 2010

The connection between Mangosteen and Mangostin

Mangostin is a compound found in Mangosteen fruit.

Where to find Mangostin in Mangosteen fruit?

Partially ripe mangosteen fruit

The rind of partially ripe mangosteen fruit yields:

• mangostin and also
• the related compound β-mangostin.

Fully ripe mangosteen fruit

The rind of fully ripe fruits contains the:

• xanthones gartanin,
• 8-disoxygartanin, and
• normangostin.

What is Mangostin?

Mangostin is a natural organic compound isolated from various parts of the mangosteen tree (Garcinia mangostana). Mangostin is different from Mangosteen. Mangosteen is the fruit of the mangosteen tree.

What does Mangostin look like?

Mangostin is a yellow crystalline solid with a xanthone core structure.

Benefits of Mangostin

Mangostin and a variety of other xanthones from mangosteen have been investigated for biological properties including:

• antioxidant,
• anti-bacterial,
• anti-inflammatory, and
• anticancer activities.[1]

1.  Jung H, Su B, Keller W, Mehta R, Kinghorn A (2006). "Antioxidant xanthones from the pericarp of Garcinia mangostana (Mangosteen)". J. Agric. Food Chem. 54 (6): 2077–82.

What is Xanthone?

Xanthone is an organic compound with the molecular formula C13H8O2.

How to prepare Xanthone?

Xanthone can be prepared by the heating of phenyl salicylate.

Phenyl salicylate is also called salol. It is a chemical substance that can be created by heating salicylic acid with phenol. Once used in sunscreens, phenyl salicylate is now used in the manufacture of some polymers, lacquers, adhesives, waxes and polishes. It is also used frequently in school laboratory demonstrations on how cooling rates effect crystal size in igneous rocks.

Have many types of Xanthones are there?

The chemical structure of xanthone forms the central core of a variety of naturally occurring organic compounds, such as mangostin, which are sometimes collectively referred to as xanthones. Over 200 xanthones have been identified.

Natural Xanthones

Xanthones are natural constituents of plants in the families Bonnetiaceae and Clusiaceae and are found in some species in the family Podostemaceae. Many of these xanthones are found in the pericarp of the mangosteen fruit (Garcinia mangostana), a fruit native to Southeast Asia.