Mangosteen mechanism

From Purdue University

Medicinal Uses: Dried fruits are shipped from Singapore to Calcutta and to China for medicinal use.The sliced and dried rind is powdered and administered to overcome dysentery.

Made into an ointment, it is applied on eczema and other skin disorders. The rind decoction is taken to relieve diarrhea and cystitis, gonorrhea and gleet and is applied externally as an astringent lotion. A portion of the rind is steeped in water overnight and the infusion given as a remedy for chronic diarrhea in adults and children.

Filipinos employ a decoction of the leaves and bark as a febrifuge and to treat thrush, diarrhea, dysentery and urinary disorders. In Malaya, an infusion of the leaves, combined with unripe banana and a little benzoin is applied to the wound of circumcision. A root decoction is taken to regulate menstruation. A bark extract called "amibiasine", has been marketed for the treatment of amoebic dysentery.

The rind of partially ripe fruits yields a polyhydroxy-xanthone derivative termed mangostin, also ß-mangostin. That of fully ripe fruits contains the xanthones, gartanin, 8-disoxygartanin, and normangostin. A derivative of mangostin, mangostin-e, 6-di-O-glucoside, is a central nervous system depressant and causes a rise in blood pressure.

Simply put, mangosteen works by exposing viral infected cells, and bacteria, to a complex conglomeration of anti-viral and anti-bacterial agents. Instead of the one magic bullet, there is now a number of them.

Cells will dynamically adjust their internal processes to compensate for the relatively ascerbic environment they are now exposed to due to the mangosteen pericarp conglomerate as the cell will become damaged and cell death will occur if it does not.

Succintly, where a cell is infected by a virus, the viral RNA or DNA has a higher affinity to the cell's molecular tools and hence the cells resources will be directed towards creating more virii. However this leads to cell death before the virii are complete when the cell is exposed to mangosteen pericarp. Healthy cells are more tolerant as their resources are put to compensating for and repairing its surface molecules, hence they survive.

The result of all this is that there is selective removal of virus infected cells and healthy cells remain, leaving the skin blemish free and without disease.