Mangosteen and Health: Arthritis

Mangosteen offers many health benefits, but can it help with arthritis?

Arthritis is a very painful, debilitating condition resulting from inflammation of the joints in the body, and is linked directly to the effects of the COX-2 enzyme.

All types of arthritis --- osteoarthritis, rheumatoid and juvenile arthritis, gout and pseudogout, ankylosing spondylitis, and Still's disease --- have inflammation linking them to the COX-2 enzyme.

Mangosteen fruit scientifically known as Garcinia mangostana is a tropical evergreen tree, believed to have been originated in Indonesia and is widely available in several South East Asian regions like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam and also in some regions of Africa. The purple Mangosteen, also known as ‘Mangustan‘ in Hindi, ‘Ivarumamidi‘ in Telugu, ‘Kaattampi‘ in Malayalam, ‘Kao‘ in Bengali, ‘Murugala Hannu‘ in Kannada, ‘Kokum‘ in Gujarati, ‘Kokam‘ or ‘Ratamba’ in Marathi, is acclaimed for its unique appearance and flavor is often revered as queen of the tropical fruits, especially in the orient.

The fruit has three major parts: the deep purple rind; the white edible flesh which is segmented like oranges and the seeds, found within the flesh. The seeds are extremely bitter in taste and are inedible while the flesh has a soft fragrance with a sweet taste. The outer shell or rind of the Mangostein fruit (called the pericarp) is rather hard, yet can be opened easily.