Mangosteen Juice - written by Corey Rozon

Mangosteen has been used for its medicinal properties in folk medicine for hundreds of years, mostly in Southeast Asia. Various parts of the plant were used for their anti-inflammatory properties to treat and prevent a variety of conditions. Today mangosteen is used in a number of health products including mangosteen juice.

Mangosteen is the fruit of a tropical evergreen tree of the same name that originated in Indonesia. The tree can grow anywhere from 20 to 80 feet and produces fruit that is 2-3 inches in diameter. When the fruit it ripe its outer skin will change from green to dark purple, which takes approximately 10 days.

The flesh of the mangosteen is juicy, fibrous and white in color. It takes sweet and tangy, somewhat like a citrus fruit with the texture of a peach. This fruit is considered one of nature's super-foods, right up there with the goji berry and the acai berry. It is comprised of a collection of polyphnols, such as tannins and those that are considered especially potent antioxidants, like xanthones, with the majority of the latter being found in the skin of the fruit.

Where to buy the Mangosteen

After being banned for many years, the mangosteen is now finding its way on to the shelves of grocery and health food stores in North America, in part because of an import ban that was lifted on July 23rd, 2007, which was originally created out of fear of Asian fruit fly. The mangosteen can now be purchased fresh, frozen or canned, as juice and as a nutritional supplement.

Fresh
Although you local grocery store may not carry the mangosteen, there is likely a local fruit market in the 'Chinatown' or a specialty produce store of your city that will carry it when it is in season. When the import ban was first lifted, there was reportedly a specialty produce store in New York that was selling mangosteens at $45 per pound, but don't worry, not that they are more widely available the price has gone down considerably.

Frozen, Freeze Dried and Canned
You may also find the mangosteen from the locations above in its frozen, freeze-dried and canned varieties.

Juice
There is an assortment of mangosteen juice available on the market, and it can be found mostly in select grocery stores, health food stores and on the internet. Some of the products contain 100% mangosteen juice, while others may be a blend of juices. The better products that blend juice will contain other exotic fruit juice like goji, camu camu, and acai juice. The less quality products will use apple and grape juice. Some mangosteen juice products may also contain whole fruit puree or polyphenols extracted from the skin, which results in a deep purple colour.

Nutritional Supplements
Mostly found on the internet, nutritional supplements made with mangosteen are a source of xanthones. Supplements are typically made from the skin and seeds of the fruit.

If you can't get your hands on fresh mangosteen, you next best bet is to purchase the juice, whether as the 100% variety or in the blended form with other exotic fruit juices. Part of good health is eating properly and maintaining a healthy diet and the antioxidant properties in mangosteen juice will help add to your already healthy lifestyle.