Mangosteen has the reputation of being the Queen of fruits.

This legend is attributed to Queen Victoria’s offer of 100 pounds of sterling to anyone that could bring her this fresh fruit that is native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and Thailand.

The active ingredient within mangosteen is a class of organic polyphenolic compounds called xanthones that is found in the highest concentration and variation in the external rind/hull part of the fruit.  There are an estimated of 40+ different xanthones in the rind of the mangosteen fruit.  Xanthones have been shown to possess insecticidal properties.  Numerous species in the Plant kingdom produce insecticides as a means of self-defense.  It is reasonable to speculate that xanthone molecules (with the highest concentration found in the skin of the fruit), are produced by the fruit tree to protect its fruit from predation by insects and pests.

The traditional medicinal usage of mangosteen in Southeast Asia includes infected wounds, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dysentery and chronic ulcers.

With the exception of some mice studies, most of current studies on xanthones were conducted with extracts of these compounds in-vitro rather than in-vivo.  This means they were conducted in the laboratory instead of in animals or people, and not with specific xanthones.

These in-vitro studies demonstrate that xanthones have the following effects:

Anti-histaminic (anti-allergy)

Anti-nociceptive (anti-pain)

Anti-oxidant (anti-aging)

Anti-microbial (anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal)

Anti-inflammatory

Apoptotic (anti-tumor)

In terms of skin disease, xanthone extracts has been shown to be effective against Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis, the two leading bacteria specie associated with acne and atopic eczema, respectively.

Traditional dermatological usage of mangosteen includes acne, eczema and psoriasis.  In light of the in-vitro data that suggest xanthones have anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-histaminic and anti-TNF-alpha effects, it is plausible that mangosteen rind extracts can be beneficial to skin diseases that involve the above patho-mechanisms.

Patients and consumers should beware that unless the mangosteen juice that you are consuming contains extracts from the actual rind of the fruit, rather than the flesh of the fruit, it is unlikely that you are ingesting the xanthones that are purported to have a beneficial effect on your skin condition.  Moreover, even if the product contains juice extracted from the rind, it is far too tart/sour for direct consumption, without addition of other fruit juices (e.g. strawberry, blackberry) or additives.  Therefore beware of juices and supplements that claim to be pure mangosteen rind extract, for if it were true, it would be too unpalatable to drink.

Lastly, please be advised that moderation is key, more is never better.  There are medical reports of lactic acidosis from patients that overdosed on mangosteen supplements.  Please consult your health care practitioner for the right dosing of mangosteen based supplements for your personal skin conditions.

Provided the mangosteen juice or supplement that are taken fulfill the above criteria for quality and safety, it is my professional opinion as a practitioner of natural dermatology that mangosteen is a valuable form of dietary therapy that patients can adopt to complement their existing treatment of common skin diseases such as acne, eczema and psoriasis.

References:

Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2010 Apr;95(2):166-72.

New medicinal properties of mangostins: analgesic activity and pharmacological characterization of active ingredients from the fruit hull of Garcinia mangostana L.

Food Chem Toxicol. 2008 Oct;46(10):3227-39.

Medicinal properties of mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana).

Am J Kidney Dis. 2008 May;51(5):829-33.

Severe lactic acidosis associated with juice of the mangosteen fruit Garcinia mangostana.

Fitoterapia. 2007 Sep;78(6):401-8.

Effect of Garcinia mangostana on inflammation caused by Propionibacterium acnes.

J Ethnopharmacol. 2005 Oct 3;101(1-3):330-3.

Antimicrobial effects of Thai medicinal plants against acne-inducing bacteria.