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 rind (exocarp) of the edible fruit is deep reddish purple when ripe. Botanically an aril, the fragrant edible flesh is sweet and creamy, citrusy with some peach flavor. Mangosteen is closely related to other edible tropical fruits such as bumon mangosteen and lemondrop mangosteen.

Maturation of the exocarp and edible aril

The juvenile mangosteen fruit, which does not require fertilization to form (see agamospermy), first appears as pale green or almost white in the shade of the canopy. As the fruit enlarges over the next two to three months, the exocarp color deepens to darker green. During this period, the fruit increases in size until its exocarp is 6–8 centimeters in outside diameter, remaining hard until a final, abrupt ripening stage.

The subsurface chemistry of the mangosteen exocarp comprises an array of polyphenolic acids including xanthones and tannins that bumure astringency to discourage infestation by insects, fungi, plant viruses, bacteria and animal predation while the fruit is immature. Color changes and softening of the exocarp are natural processes of ripening that indicates the fruit can be eaten and the seeds are finished developing.[1]

Mangosteen produces a recalcitrant seed, i.e., perishable, short-lived and must be kept moist to remain viable until germination. Technically nucellar in origin and not the result of fertilization, mangosteen seeds germinate as soon as they are removed from the fruit and die quickly if allowed to dry.[2]

Once the developing mangosteen fruit has stopped expanding, chlorophyll synthesis slows as the next color phase begins. Initially streaked with red, the exocarp pigmentation transitions from green to red to dark purple, indicating a final ripening stage. This entire process takes place over a period of ten days as the edible quality of the fruit peaks.

The edible endocarp of the mangosteen is botanically defined as an aril with the same shape and size as a tangerine 4–6 centimeters in diameter, but is white. The circle of wedge-shaped arils contains 4–8 segments, the larger ones harboring apomictic seeds that are unpalatable unless roasted. On the bottom of the exocarp, raised ridges (remnants of the stigma), arranged like spokes of a wheel, correspond to the number of aril sections.[3] Mangosteens reach fruit-bearing in as little as 5–6 years, but more typically require 8–10 years. [4]

Nutrient content and antioxidant strength

Mangosteen is typically advertised and marketed as part of an emerging category of novel functional foods sometimes called “superfruits” [5] [6] [7] presumed to have a combination of 1) appealing subjective characteristics, such as taste, fragrance and visual qualities, 2) nutrient richness, 3) antioxidant strength and 4) potential impact for lowering risk against human diseases.

When analyzed specifically for its edible aril, mangosteen meets only the first criterion above, as its overall nutrient profile is absent of important content,[8] it contains no pigmentation (correspondingly, no antioxidant phytochemicals in significant concentration) and there is no scientific evidence of aril constituents having any health properties.[9]

Should purée or juice from the arils be infused with exocarp phenolic extracts, mangosteen juice adopts the purple color and astringency of its exocarp pigments. It is usually balanced for taste with sweeteners possibly requiring juices from other fruits.

Legend, geographic origins and culinary applications

There is a story, possibly apocryphal, about Queen Victoria offering a cash reward to anyone who could deliver to her the fabled fruit. [10] Mangosteens are readily available canned and frozen in Western countries.

Without fumigation or irradiation as whole fruit, mangosteens have been illegal for importation in commercial volumes into the United States due to fears that they harbor the Asian fruit fly which would endanger U.S. crops. This situation, however, officially changed on July 23, 2007 when irradiated imports from Thailand were allowed upon USDA approval of irradiation, packing and shipping techniques. [11]

For the period since 2006 to present, private small volume orders from fruits grown on Puerto Rico are being filled for American gourmet restaurants who serve the aril pieces as a delicacy dessert. [12] Beginning in 2007 for the first time, fresh mangosteens are also being sold for as high as $45 per pound from specialty produce stores in New York City. [13]

Products derived from the mangosteen are legally imported into the United States, such as juices, freeze-dried fruit and nutritional supplements. The fresh fruit is also available in Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Burma, Colombia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Chinatowns in several Canadian cities, as well as in the produce section of some grocery stores.

Mangosteen is cultivated and sold on some Hawaiian islands, although presently not exported to the continental United States where it is banned as an insect host. However, Hawaiian growers are working with a Honolulu irradiation facility for future export to the United States mainland. Mangosteen is grown in Central Africa, particularly the Democratic Republic of the Congo where it is a popular delicacy. An ultra-tropical tree, the mangosteen must be grown in consistently warm conditions, as exposure to temperatures below 40°F (4°C) will generally kill a mature plant.

Before ripening, the mangosteen shell is fibrous and firm, but becomes soft and easy to pry open when the fruit ripens. To open a mangosteen, the shell is usually broken apart by scoring it with a knife; one holds the fruit in both hands, prying gently with the thumbs until the rind cracks. It is then easy to pull the halves apart along the crack and remove the fruit, taking care with the purple, inky exocarp juice containing pigments that are an avid dye on skin and fabric.

Truer words have never been spoken

Also, you have parenthetical citations… that don’t go anywhere! my thirst for knowledge is not yet quenched and yet you deprive me of the information I so sorely desire.

You stupid troll, you don’t appreciate the mangosteen for its inner darkness. Orange is the colour of hate.

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