Thai Mangosteen - Queen of Fruits

Known for centuries in Asia, the mangosteen is a tropical evergreen tree with a fruit that is often dubbed the Queen of Fruits due to its many healing properties. The mangosteen itself was first discovered, but not originated, in Burma and Siam otherwise known as Thailand today. For a Thai mangosteen tree to grow, it must have very humid, warm weather, which is exactly the type of climate found in Thailand.

The tree grows from seven to twenty five meters high and is full of edible reddish fruits which are the mangosteen fruit. They have what appears to be rather hard outer shell which in reality is quite easy to open.

The tree is believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands or the Moluccas but nobody seems to know for sure. The Sunda Islands, which are part of the Malay Archipelago, are divided into two groups which are the greater and lesser Sunda Islands. It is from this tropical region of the world that the mangosteen is believed to have originated and continues to flourish due to the ideal conditions.

Even though some of the growing conditions are the same in California and Florida, there has not been much success in growing a Thai mangosteen tree in these areas, apparently due to the slight differences in climate. People have also tried growing Thai mangosteen trees in greenhouses but with little or no luck. The Thai mangosteen tree requires specific conditions in which to grow, including temperatures that do not drop below 40F or go above 100F, high atmospheric humidity all year round and an annual rainfall of around fifty inches. As well as all of that, it will not tolerate drought conditions of any length of time.

The fruit of the Thai mangosteen tree itself resembles a small, round eggplant with a curvy, interesting looking cap at the top of the fruit itself. Unlike many other types of fruit, it is usually the outer shell or rind of the fruit that is used. The inner white sectioned fruit is quite edible, but most of the healing properties associated with the fruit are concentrated in the pericarp or rind of the fruit.

Even though the Thai mangosteen fruit itself looks like it has a rather hard shell, it can be quite easy to open. Care must be taken when opening them, however, because the rind produces a very purple juice that stains fabric and even skin badly and is virtually indelible. Often, hotels in Southeast Asia ban their occupants from having the fruit in their rooms for fear of permanent damage to furniture and bedding.

Since the Thai mangosteen is so difficult to grow outside of Southeast Asia, mangosteen juice is usually rather expensive and can often be difficult to find. The Internet is probably the best place to look for Thai mangosteen juice. You will find many independent distributors selling the juice, which they deliver directly to your home.

Thai mangosteen juice has already been proven to be very beneficial to a person’s health. Whether it is the super fruit that a lot of believers are claiming it is still needs to be proven. Preliminary tests have shown it can help with certain conditions, but long term conditions still need to be studied further. It certainly cannot hurt to try it, and may even have long term health benefits.