Xanthones In Mangosteen – Some Scientific Facts

This is a short article and was meant to be. It is important for anyone interested in mangosteen to understand on a cellular level what happens inside the body and why xanthones are so important in the health arena.

Xanthones are polyphenols, they are very stable molecules with necessary accessories called side chains. This is why they are so important in the health arena. All cells in our bodies are made up protons, neutrons and electrons. A healthy cell will always have an even number of electrons such as 2, 4, 6, 8, you get the picture. When a cell becomes damaged through free radical damage or oxidation from a variety of sources, it loses an electron, and it will try to borrow or steal an electron from another healthy cell to once again become healthy. Then this cell now minus an electron will try to do the same from another healthy cell, thus starting a chain reaction. This is how sickness and disease begin. This causes DNA to become unstable. Xanthones can operate freely within the body by themselves or combined with other xanthones and combine with either hormones or enzymes at the cellular level. DNA cells multiply themselves whether they are normal cells or abnormal. The xanthones can freely donate the needed electron to the free radically damaged cell which is trying to become healthy, without becoming unhealthy itself, thus neutralizing the damage to the damaged cell.

There are many vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and herbs that act as antioxidants or aid in the production of them. The best way to make sure you have covered all the bases in neutralizing free radicals is to eat the right foods and to drink plenty of good quality water and get proper exercise.

Isolated Xanthones and their effects on the body

Alpha Mangosteen – powerful antioxidant properties

Gamma Mangosteen – anti-inflammatory (* scientific and medical research has confirmed that almost all sickness and major disease begins from inflammation in the body – known as chronic low grade inflammation not seen or felt)

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What Are Xanthones and How Do They Work?

Xanthones are plant phenols found in a small variety of tropical plants, of the known roughly 200 known xanthones that exist in nature, 40 or more are found in the mangosteen fruit, the highest concentration found in any one place. The highest concentration of the xanthones are found in the pericarp or rind, not in the fruit itself. Xanthones are classified as phytonutrients and are biologically active compounds. Some important xanthone properties are listed below.

• antioxidant – neutralize free radicals in the body
• anti-inflammatory – shown to be an effective COX 2 inhibitor
• anti-bacterial
• anti-virus
• anti-microbial
• anti-fungus
• anti-fatigue
• anti-aging
• anti-obesity
• anti-tumor
• anti-cancer
• anti-allergenic
• anti-diarrheal

Some other properties are that xanthones may lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, help lower and control blood sugar levels, help prevent cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, help prevent onset of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease, reduce symptoms of or assist in treating GERD, hiatal hernia, diverticulitis, arthritis, sleep disorders, irritable bowel disease, fibromyalgia, neurodermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and seborrhea, mild depression, and recurrent urinary tract infections.

That’s quite a list. I’ve never seen any other health supplement with the potential to affect so many health challenges. I’ve seen some very interesting and promising studies regarding the mangosteen fruit with respect to heart disease and cancer, but will reserve comment here due to the seriousness of the topic. An excellent reference for research of the mangosteen fruit is at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/gquery, You can type in either mangosteen or xanthones and quite a bit of research information is available. The next few years should prove very interesting as a lot of research is being done currently. I have seen some studies done by Harvard and Yale medical centers as well as some other university studies and will be sharing some of those going forward.

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