The Mangosteen fruit (Garcinia Mangostana L.) is one of the most praised tropical fruits. It is almost universally known or heard of by this name. The flesh is acclaimed as exquisitely luscious and delicious. While it is highly valued for its flavor, the pericarp (or rind) has been widely used for all kinds of conditions.

Mangosteen processed fruit ingredients are obtained from fruit grown mainly in the Asian and Pacific tropics, but is not related to the mango fruit. The two primary mangosteen components-pericarp and flesh-have different purposes in the functional food industry. The purple pericarp, not considered edible, is a rich source of antioxidant phytochemicals, whereas the interior flesh is valued as a juice or pulp product. A few of the benefits for this "Queen of Fruits" are:

• Anti-bacterial, anti-carcinoma & anti-viral indications
• Helps maintain low response to allergens (inhibitions of histamine release and prostaglandin E2 synthesis)
• Mangosteen as a whole fruit ranks among those with the highest anti-oxidant levels found, primarily from the Xanthones.
• Beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, vitamin C, trace B vitamins, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, zinc and potassium

The place of origin of the mangosteen used for processed fruit ingredients is unknown but is believed to be the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas; still, there are wild trees in the forests of Kemaman, Malaya. Corner suggests that the tree may have been first domesticated in Thailand, or Burma. It is much cultivated in Thailand-where there were 9,700 acres (4,000 ha) in 1965-also in Kampuchea, southern Vietnam and Burma, throughout Malaya and Singapore. The tree was planted in Ceylon about 1800 and in India in 1881. There it succeeds in 4 limited areas-the Nilgiri Hills, the Tinnevelly district of southern Madras, the Kanya-kumani district at the southernmost tip of the Madras peninsula, and in Kerala State in southwestern India. The tree is fairly common only in the provinces of Mindanao and Sulu (or Jolo) in the Philippines. It is rare in Queensland, where it has been tried many times since 1854, and poorly represented in tropical Africa (Zanzibar, Ghana, Gabon and Liberia). Despite early trials in Hawaii, the tree has not become well acclimatized and is still rare in those islands. Neither has it been successful in California. It encounters very unfavorable soil and climate in Florida. Some plants have been grown for a time in containers in greenhouses. One tree in a very protected coastal location and special soil lived to produce a single fruit and then succumbed to winter cold.

^*May be available only in full container quantities (approx 40,000 lbs)
and subject to other terms and conditions.

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