Mangosteen - useful properties and contraindications

Mangosteen or mangosteen, as they are also called, grow in the tropics and Asian countries (Philippines, Thailand, islands of East Asia), where they are widely known and quite familiar to the local population. There it is an ordinary fruit that people eat and consider delicious and not indifferent to health. Currently, mangosteen are not very famous in the countries of the former Soviet Union. However, they have excellent, rather unusual taste and are also very useful.

The birthplace of mangosteen is considered the Malay archipelago. Most often they are grown on the Thai islands, in tropical and East Asian countries.

Royal fruits grow on evergreen and tall, up to 25 m trees, with pyramidal crowns covered with scaly brown or black bark. The plant has fleshy, dark green leaves with a yellow-green bottom, they are smooth and dense to the touch. Mangosteen love heat and the sun, they die at temperatures below 5 degrees with a plus sign. Fruits require moderately humid climatic conditions and do not tolerate salty groundwater. Given their finicky, the high price for these capricious and therefore rare fruits is quite justified.

How to choose and consume mangosteen

This fruit is very aromatic with an incomparably pleasant, sour, refreshing taste. His skin is dark burgundy, almost black, and the flesh is white. In size and shape, it resembles tangerines already familiar to us. However, its peel, in comparison with the beloved citrus, is quite thick, and can be up to 1 cm. Therefore, it is also suitable for eating.

The value of this exotic delicacy in its rarity and high content of useful substances, namely: phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, many vitamins. In addition, the skin of mangosteen contains xanthones - rare antioxidants that have a huge healing effect on the human body. The most effective way of consuming this fruit for the benefit of the body is in the form of gruel or fresh, cooked together with the skin. Because it is in the peel that contains most of the valuable minerals and vitamins.

For export, the fruits are harvested slightly greenish, immature. When buying, you should pay attention to the color of the fruit, it should be bright, the skin should not be damaged or too hard to the touch. With a little push, it should spring a little. Cracked and hard mangosteen are overripe and do not have such pleasant taste properties as better ones. The fruit itself should be moderately soft and preferably larger. Since in large fruits there is more pulp than in small ones. You can be sure of the freshness of the fruit if its top is crowned with a large number of leaves.

For use from mangosteen, you need to remove the stem. Next, the fruit should be divided in the center with a knife and peeled. Each fruit contains about eight cloves of tasty, fragrant and juicy pulp with bone.

Most often, mangosteen is used fresh, it is quite sweet, juicy and tastes good. However, in the countries of its growth, the fruits are even canned. In addition, with the addition of mangosteen, you can cook exotic dishes.

Interesting Facts! Queen Victoria loved the mangosteen very much. What he deserved the name of "king among the fruits."

How to store mangosteen?

To store fruit, you need a dry indoor room, but by no means cold. The maximum shelf life is up to 25 days. After this period, the mangosteen fruit, as a rule, begins to dry out and loses its taste, becomes dry and hard.

Unfortunately, freshly picked mangosteen can be enjoyed only in tropical and Asian countries, so greenish fruits are exported. This is due to the fact that it is difficult to store when changing temperature conditions. If it is frozen in the freezer, it will lose its structure, taste and will not have the benefit that was originally. In the refrigerator, this fruit can retain its taste and benefits for up to 7 days, no more.

Of course, mangosteen is best consumed in countries where it grows, freshly picked and fully ripened. Only then, according to local residents, you can get the maximum benefit from it and evaluate its taste.

Benefit

1. Mangosteen is thoroughly studied by scientists at Bangkok University. And it found a large amount of vitamin PP (nicotinic acid), which is extremely important for human health. Deficiency of this vitamin can be dangerous a condition that scientists have called 3D: dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia (dementia). By the content of vitamin PP, mangosteen is inferior only to mango.
2. The use of this exotic treat for food strengthens the immune system, which enhances the body's ability to combat infectious diseases, and accelerates the healing of wounds and ulcers. Mangosteen also helps fight parasites and fungi, which often affect residents of hot countries. Strengthening immunity plays a leading role in the prevention of cancer pathologies.
3. This fruit has a positive effect on the endocrine system, which is important for people who are overweight, associated with hormonal disorders. Increases overall vitality and strengthens the walls of blood vessels, normalizes blood pressure and lowers cholesterol in the body.
4. Scientists using experiments on mice have proved the effectiveness of this fruit in the fight against the Helicobacter pylori bacterium, which causes gastritis and gastric ulcer. The negative effect of mangosteen is also noted in relation to tubercle bacillus and even cancer cells. It turns out that this fruit in itself simply destroys them.

Healing properties

1. Mangosteen is an important source of vitamins E and C, thiamine, nitrogen, riboflavin, magnesium, calcium, zinc, sodium and potassium for humans. The skin contains a lot of pectin, and the seeds contain fatty acids, vitamin C, phytonutrients. Vitamins E and C help free the body from free radicals, leading to premature aging. The xanthones contained in the peel have recently become an important medical discovery. And according to recent studies, their properties are simply amazing! They normalize microbiological processes at the cellular level, contribute to the activation of brain processes, strengthen immunity. Moreover, mangosteen today is the only fruit in the pulp and skin of which contain such useful xanthones in large quantities.
2. In addition, mangosteen contains dietary fiber, which is important for proper digestion. And all this at an extremely low calorie content of 70 kilocalories per 100 g of product.
3. The healing potential of mangosteen was determined several centuries ago, and today it is justified by modern science. Kstantons have a unique ability to inhibit the growth of malignant neoplasms. They prevent the development of fungus and destroy microorganisms harmful to the body. American scientists have discovered the ability of xanthine compounds to destroy malignant cells.
4. Even the ancient shamans of Asian countries for centuries used mangosteen for medicinal purposes, and today it has scientific grounds.They were treated with diseases of the musculoskeletal system, gastrointestinal tract diseases, and reproductive pathologies in women.
5. Thai beauties successfully use mangosteen in cosmetology, it has an anti-inflammatory effect and has a pronounced effect in skin problems caused by pathogenic microorganisms.

The bark of the fruiting mangosteen tree is also used for medicinal purposes. It in crushed and dried state is used for intestinal infections. With the help of it, creams and ointments are prepared to treat skin diseases. The broth helps fight cystitis, urethritis, diarrhea, gonorrhea and has hemostatic properties for external use. Infusion of bark and leaves treat fever, stomatitis, diarrhea, dysentery.

Fruits have the ability to destroy fat cells. They can be used to prevent dangerous diseases:

• osteoporosis;
• atherosclerosis;
• hypertension;
• glaucoma;
• cataract;
• arthritis;
• Lyme disease
• urolithiasis disease;
• crayfish.

Mangosteen helps fight depression, neuralgia, and other nervous diseases.

Contraindications

In any case, before treating yourself to a mangosteen, you should consult a doctor to avoid undesirable consequences and get the most benefit for the body.

Asian salad

Take your favorite seafood: mussels, shrimp, squid. Add lime, cilantro, hot and black pepper, cherry tomatoes and mangosteen itself. Prepare seafood in the usual way. Fry cherry tomatoes in a small amount of vegetable oil. Mix the ingredients in one bowl and sprinkle with lime juice.

Video: useful properties of mangosteen