Supports blood sugar control A recent 26-week study in obese women found that people who received 400 mg of supplemental mangosteen extract a day significantly reduced insulin resistance, a risk factor for diabetes (1). In traditional South East Asian medicine, especially in Thailand, the peel and flesh of mangosteen are used to treat numerous ailments, from skin and urinary tract infections to dysentery and diarrhea). More clinical studies will be needed to confirm the validity of these uses as medicinal remedies. Traditional diets in regions where mangosteen is an important source of nutrition are often also high in other whole fruits and vegetables, as well as fish.
When not mixed with “Western” diets full of processed foods, these traditional diets are effective in preventing chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. The results of a pilot study1 published in Nutrients indicate that mangosteen extract (Garcinia mangostana) may offer benefits to obese patients at risk of type 2 diabetes. Until now, efforts to grow mangosteen in the continental United States have been unsuccessful (not a pun intended), but some success has been achieved in growing mangosteen in Puerto Rico.
