The mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a tropical evergreen tree, believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas. The tree grows from 7 to 25 meters tall. The edible fruit is deep reddish purple when ripe. In Asia, the mangosteen fruit is known as the “Queen of Fruits,” while the durian (Durio spp.) is known as the “King of Fruits.” It is closely related to other edible tropical fruits such as button mangosteen and lemondrop mangosteen.

Its taste may be compared to that of an underripe strawberry, with hints of sweet orange. Its seed, however, is not edible and if one accidentally bit into it, one would be in for a very bitter experience.

The mangosteen, along with other popular Asian fruits such as the rambutan and the longan, is now being grown and sold on some of the Hawaiian islands, although they are presently not being exported to the continental US for the reasons stated above. However, Hawaiian growers are working with a Honolulu irradiation facility for future export to the continental United States. The mangosteen is also grown, and very popular in Central Africa, and particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An ultra-tropical, the Mangosteen tree must be grown in consistently warm conditions; exposure to temperatures below 40 °F (4 °C) will generally kill a mature plant.

Health benefits
For hundreds of years, the people of Southeast Asia have used the mangosteen, especially the rind, to ward off and treat infections, reduce pain or control fever, and treat various other ailments. Decades of scientific studies, published in peer review journals, help to explain the folklore suggesting health benefits of mangosteen fruit. They have discovered over 40 antioxidants in the mangosteen fruit known as xanthones. Although there is much anecdotal evidence of health benefits, medical benefits have yet to be proven through double blind human studies.

Recently, mangosteen has been used as an ingredient into several popular commercially available nutritional supplements, including Vemma, XanGo and NuNutra. One of the largest suppliers of high ORAC, nutraceutical grade mangosteen raw material is Thai Herbal Research.