The mangosteen fruit is believed to have originated on the islands of Sunda & Molucca, now part of Indonesia, where it’s known as Queen of the Fruits. However, they grow wild in many tropical rainforest areas of South East Asia, such as:
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Indonesia
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Borneo
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The Philippines
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Singapore
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Malaysia
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Laos &
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Cambodia
Fresh Mangosteen & its healing skin, the pericarp
The first mention of the fruit by a Westerner was by the French missionary & explorer Laurentiers Garcin 1673-1751. Mangosteen’s botanical name, Garcinia mangostana is in his honor.
Westerners soon introduced it to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1800 & India in 1881 and since then, mangosteen trees have popped up in The Caribbean, (where it’s called The Fruit of the Gods), parts of Central Africa, Australia & even South America.
Unfortunately, mangosteen seems to grow at its whim, thriving in one spot but not in another, even a few miles away, because as a rainforest plant it’s very sensitive to climate, intolerant of salt air, wind, too much or too little heat, cold or water.
Throughout the Far East, the mangosteen skin, the pericarp, is dried, powdered and then used to treat:
- dysentery
- eczema
- fatigue
- fevers
- gonorrhoea
- infected wounds
- malaria
- parasitic infections
- tuberculosis
- urinary tract infection
- skin disorders and
- syphilis
A Visit To A Mangosteen Plantation
Mangosteen Health Tree has provided an excellent (though silent and long, 5.48) low-tech video from a trip to a mangosteen plantation in the Phillippines with footage of the mangosteen tree, the fruit, harvesting etc.
N.B.: we make no comment whatsoever on the efficacy of their mangosteen products since we know nothing about them but we stress that this site only recommends quality mangosteen juice.
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In 2008, the USA relaxed its importing rules on fresh mangosteen fruit and they are now available for purchase, throughout the country. The New York Times takes up the story.
The New York Times: Meet The Mangosteen
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This page has the following sub pages.
Is mangosteen is useful for the cure of vitiligo. Or can it is capable of bringing back your pigmentation. how it work for skin.
There are presently 6 mangosteen juice testimonials for Vitiligo that you may care to take a peek at.
James Mangosteen Dean
One question:
Why can’t we buy the mangosteen fruit here in the USA?
Hi Rachel.
Although a small but illegal trade for fresh mangosteen in the USA has thrived for many years (probably through the Chinese, S.E. Asian & Caribbean communities) – it was banned from the USA for quarantine reasons.
Some have tried to circumvent this by growing the tree, themselves – but with little success as it’s notoriously temperamental outside equatorial, humid zones (see: This Garden Is Illegal). One notable exception was the irrepressible self-taught horticulturalist, Bill Whitman, who’s pictured beside his thriving mangosteen tree in Florida.
However, The New York Times reported that in late 2008, the American import ban was lifted (see video above) and fresh mangosteen is now available through specialist fruit stores – though it’s expensive – made more so by the burgeoning global market for all products mangosteen.
N.B.: Be warned! Because of the cost, purchase a single mangosteen first and taste it. I bought 4 about a while ago and when I opened them for my family, the fruit were virtually all dust inside!