Benefits
Antioxidant capacity in the blood
In 60 healthy adults, 30 days of a mangosteen-based drink (with green tea, aloe, vitamins and caffeine) left blood antioxidant capacity about 15% higher than placebo. In 11 healthy Thai adults taking a water-soluble rind extract for 24 weeks, red blood cells showed less oxidative damage to proteins, but there was no control group.
C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation
In an 8-week placebo-controlled study of 40 adults with obesity and raised C-reactive protein (CRP), only the highest dose of a mangosteen juice blend (18 oz a day) changed CRP more than placebo, and other inflammation markers did not differ. In a 30-day trial of a mangosteen drink, CRP fell 46% within the drink group. All were juice blends, not pure extracts.
Insulin sensitivity alongside a weight-loss diet
In a 26-week randomized study, 22 women with obesity and insulin resistance followed a calorie-reduced diet, and half also took a 400 mg/day mangosteen extract. Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) fell about 51% with the extract versus 10% with diet alone. The study was small, had no placebo, and fasting blood sugar did not change in either group.
Body weight during a calorie-controlled diet
In the same 26-week study, women taking the extract lost about 4 kg and the diet-only group about 1 kg, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant, and waist and body fat did not differ. Weight-loss trials of Meratrim used a blend of mangosteen rind with Sphaeranthus indicus, so they do not show what mangosteen does alone.
Skin elasticity and moisture
In an open study of 11 healthy women aged 32 to 48, a 100 mg/day hot-water extract of the rind for 12 weeks was followed by lower blood pentosidine (a marker of sugar-protein damage), lower skin autofluorescence, and better skin elasticity and moisture readings. There was no placebo group, and two authors worked for an extract maker.
Mood and thinking studied as an add-on to psychiatric care
Two 24-week placebo-controlled trials gave 1,000 mg/day of rind extract alongside usual treatment. In 148 people with schizophrenia, symptoms, functioning and cognition did not differ from placebo. In 152 adults with bipolar depression, overall depression scores did not clearly differ, though some mood and functioning scores were better at 24 weeks.
Mechanism of action
Xanthones are absorbed, but unevenly
When 10 healthy adults drank 60 mL of mangosteen juice with a high-fat breakfast, alpha-mangostin and other xanthones appeared in blood and urine, partly as conjugated forms. Exposure varied about fivefold between people, and only about 2% of the dose was recovered in urine.
Radical scavenging by rind polyphenols
Rind extracts, especially the water-soluble fraction, scavenge free radicals in laboratory tests. In people, blood antioxidant capacity rose within hours of a mangosteen drink, but these tests do not show which compounds are responsible or whether the effect matters for health.
Slows formation of glycation products in the lab
A hot-water rind extract and several compounds purified from it, such as garcimangosone D and rhodanthenone B, inhibited the formation of pentosidine, an advanced glycation end-product, in test-tube experiments.
Clinical trials
Prospective randomized controlled study of a calorie-reduced diet and exercise advice with or without a mangosteen extract supplement (400 mg once daily, standardized to 40% alpha- and gamma-mangostin), supplied free by Sanamedica Group (Watanabe et al. 2018, Nutrients)
22 women aged 18 to 65 with obesity (BMI 30 or above) and insulin resistance in Rome, Italy; 20 completed.
Insulin fell 53% with the extract versus 15% with lifestyle advice alone, and HOMA-IR fell 51% versus 10% (p = 0.004). Fasting glucose did not change. Weight fell 4.1 kg with the extract versus 0.9 kg without, but this between-group difference was not significant; CRP and HDL improved within the extract group only. Gastrointestinal complaints were similar in both groups.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 245 mL/day of Verve, a drink of mangosteen juice and extract with aloe, green tea, vitamins and a caffeinated energy blend, supplied by Vemma Nutrition; placebo was a fructose drink (Xie et al. 2015, Food Sci Nutr)
60 healthy adults aged 18 to 60 (30 men, 30 women).
After 30 days, blood antioxidant capacity (ORAC) was 15% higher than in the placebo group. CRP fell 46% within the drink group, with no significant fall on placebo. Antibody and complement levels did not change, and liver and kidney tests stayed normal. Because the drink had many ingredients, the effects cannot be credited to mangosteen alone.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-finding study of XanGo Juice, a whole-fruit mangosteen puree blended with apple, pear, grape and other fruit juices, at 3, 6 or 9 oz twice daily for 8 weeks; sponsored by XanGo LLC (Udani et al. 2009, Nutr J)
44 adults with obesity and raised high-sensitivity CRP randomized; 40 completed.
CRP dropped from baseline in all three juice groups and rose on placebo; the within-group changes were not significant, but the change at the highest dose (18 oz a day) was significantly different from placebo (p = 0.02). Inflammatory cytokines and F2-isoprostane did not differ from placebo, and BMI showed only a trend. No side effects were reported.
Laboratory work plus an open-label, uncontrolled study of 100 mg/day hot-water mangosteen pericarp extract for 12 weeks; two authors were from Nippon Shinyaku (Ohno et al. 2015, J Clin Biochem Nutr)
11 healthy women aged 32 to 48 in Japan.
Serum pentosidine and fingertip skin autofluorescence fell over 12 weeks, skin elasticity indices improved by week 4 and held, and facial moisture readings rose from 72.8 to 84.1. With no placebo group, these changes cannot be separated from season, expectation or measurement drift.
Two-site, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 1,000 mg/day mangosteen pericarp extract added to usual treatment for 24 weeks, with follow-up at 28 weeks (Turner et al. 2021, Can J Psychiatry)
148 adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in Australia (74 per group); 136 analyzed.
Both groups improved over time, with no between-group difference in the primary outcome (PANSS total) or any secondary symptom, functioning or quality-of-life measure at 24 or 28 weeks. A separate secondary analysis of 114 participants found no effect on any cognitive test.
Multisite, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of mangosteen pericarp extract (2 x 500 mg capsules daily) added to usual treatment for 24 weeks, funded by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council, Deakin University and other grants; Deakin University holds a patent on mangosteen pericarp for schizophrenia (Dean et al. 2025, Br J Psychiatry)
152 adults with bipolar I or II disorder and at least moderate depressive symptoms (70 extract, 82 placebo); 114 completed and were analyzed.
Overall change in depression scores did not substantially differ from placebo, giving limited support to the main hypothesis. Some mood, clinical-severity and social-functioning scores were better with the extract at 24 weeks, but these differences faded 4 weeks after stopping. Mania scores and quality of life did not differ.
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial of 250 mL mangosteen-based juice (305 mg alpha-mangostin and 278 mg hydroxycitric acid) taken 1 hour before cycling to exhaustion (Chang et al. 2016, J Int Soc Sports Nutr)
12 healthy adults.
Time to exhaustion, heart rate, perceived exertion, blood fatigue markers and muscle stiffness did not differ from placebo; only a mood questionnaire score favored the juice.