Mangosteen the "Queen of Fruits".

The fruit usually described as sweet and tangy, Citrusy with peach flavour and texture.

Mangosteen is among one of my favourite the local fruits. When I was young, I always joined a group of friends climbing the mangosteen tree. It not only the marvelous taste of the fruit we enjoy but what matter most us was the joy and trill of leaping between branches. It is quite safe as the branches are tough and won't break easily. It is also the training ground for us to enhanced our tree climbing skill. I never know that the mangosteen has such a great medicinal value until I intended to post this entry and do some search.

The Purple Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), colloquially known simply as "the mangosteen", is a tropical evergreen tree, believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia. The latin name for the mangosteen is Garcinia mangostana L. and the genus Garcinia is an honor bestowed upon Laurent Garcin by Linnaeus for his work as a botanist and naturalist in the 18th century(http://en.wikipedia.org/). Other source (http://www.mangosteenfruitinfo.com)/ stated that Laurentiers Garcin (1673-1751)is a French priest and explorer. The tree grows from 7 to 25 m (20–80 ft) tall. The mangosteen is composed of the rind (exocarp), pulp(fruit) and seeds.

It is believed that the Queen of England was so delighted by the mangosteen's unique taste and exquisite flavour that she named it "Queen of Fruits".

This fruits are gaining popularity in the local market. We can easily found it in Pasar Tamu or sentral market(Sibu).

A basket full of mangosteen fruit.

Recently I have the opportunity to climb and pluck the mangosteen fruit. It won't take me long to fill up this basket. (our tradition basket made from rattan and has been exist for centuries).

Mangosteen tree.

This is a young mangosteen tree, starting bear fruit for the past few years only. The life span for the mangosteen could easily reach 100 years. Probably my third generation wil still be able to eat the fruit from this tree unless somehow someone chop it down for some unknown reason.

This is the branches of the mangosteen tree. It protrude horizontally from the tree trunk. Thus it position itself vertically with the ground.

There are numerous scientific research has been conducted on the mangosteen with the majority of it focus on the biological ingredients, the xanthones. Xanthones are active and natural substances rerely found in fruits and vegetables and are extremely powerful antioxidants. Scientists have identified 200 diferent variety of xanthones and remarkable, 40 is found in mangosteen.

Mangosteen is typically advertised and marketed as part of an emerging category of novel functional foods sometimes called "superfruits" presumed to have a combination of 1) appealing subjective characteristics, such as taste, fragrance and visual qualities, 2) nutrient richness, 3) antioxidant strength and 4) potential impact for lowering risk of human diseases.

Potential benefit of mangosteen; -Anti bacterial, -Anti Fungal, -Anti Inflamatory, -Anti Lipidemia (lowering of blood cholesterol), -Anti-oxidant, -Anti tumout/cancer and Anti viral.

Sources;

http://www.mangosteenhealthtree.com/

http://www.mangosteen.com/

http://www.mangosteenfruitinfo.com/

Vemma Science - Clinical Studies

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