Cancer is one of the most common life-threatening illnesses in the world today. Many people are suffering from it, but medical science has not yet found a cure to beat this terminal disease. Many herbal concoctions have come out in the market saying they can cure cancer. The mangosteen is one of the fruits believed to be able to cure cancer. Is there really a truth to this?
Mangosteen's anti-cancer properties
Researches have shown that the Xanthones compound found in the Mangosteen fruit carry the properties of anti-leukemia, anti-tumor (shrinks the tumor in the body), anti-fungal (critical for all cancer patients), antibacterial (protects the DNA), antioxidants, and anti-proliferation (kills cancer cells). This is perhaps why the mangosteen is revered as a possible cancer cure.
Xanthones in Mangosteen
What makes the mangosteen unique from other fruits that also have anti-cancer properties (like grapes and berries) is the natural occurrence of Xanthones in the fruit. Most scientific researches on mangosteen state that it contains about two dozen Xanthones. However, most of the Xanthones in the fruit have yet to be researched for structure, function, and properties.
Some of the Xanthones found in mangosteen are alpha-Mangostin, beta-Mangostin, 3-Isomangostin, Mangostanol, Gertanin, Garcinone A, Garcinone B, Garcinone C, Garcinone D, Garcinone E, and Maclurin among others.
Mangosteen has numerous health benefits, most resulting from the Xanthones and their antioxidant properties. However, mangosteen also contains other vitamins, minerals, and enzymes like catechins and polyphenols.
Taking Advantage of the Treatment
While mangosteen seems to be an effective cancer treatment by itself, the evidence in terms of actual experiments are not yet enough and conclusive. Eating mangosteen should only be supplementary to the main treatment to ensure the wellness of the patient. Its main function should only be to give the body enough nutrition and strengthen the anti-cancer cells.
To benefit from this natural treatment, it is recommended that a cancer patient drink at least ten ounces and at most twenty ounces of mangosteen juice a day.
Mangosteen and durian
If there is a king and queen in a prom and a king and queen in chess, would you believe that there is also a "King and Queen of All Tropical Fruits?" Yes, that's right! And this title belongs to the durian (Durio zibethinus) and mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), respectively.
Both "royal" fruits are native to Southeast Asia. They thrive in a warm, humid, equatorial climate.
The durian
The durian tree is tall and large. Be sure to stay away from falling durians because the covering of the fruit is made up of hard spines and it weighs several kilograms. To open a durian, insert a stout knife into a line visible among its spines. Durians consist of about five segments with several seeds in each segment, and are surrounded by custard-like aril. Freshly fallen fruits taste better and are less pungent.
The mangosteen
Mangosteens can be classified according to color - yellow mangosteens and purple mangosteens. Yellow mangosteens are easier to grow and bring to fruiting than purple mangosteens. Other species of yellow mangosteen include the mundu (G. dulcis), the kochin goroka (G. xanthochymus), and the asam gelugur (G. atroviridis).
Mangosteens, when ripe, are dark red. They taste best if harvested before they get darker (say, purple or blue-black). They do not ripen post-harvest. The fruit size is the same as that of an apple and tastes like a mixture of orange and strawberry. The outer skin or rind measures up to 8 mm thick and is rich in tannic acid, making fruit insects resistant. To open a mangosteen, cut only through its skin, then lightly pull and twist the fruit apart.