Mangosteen

Garcinia mangostana

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Periodontitis adjunct¹ Gingivitis² Insulin sensitivity³ Weight management⁴ Mild to moderate acne⁵ Alzheimer's disease cognition⁶	Chemotherapy or radiation⁷ Calcineurin inhibitor use⁷

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a tropical fruit whose pericarp, or rind, is used in dietary supplements for its antioxidant activity⁷. Its xanthones act mainly through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and the uses follow from that⁷. Supplementation centers on periodontal and gingival health, with interest in insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes, weight management, and cognition in Alzheimer's disease.

Periodontal evidence is the most developed. Glycemic evidence rests on a few small human studies³. A herbal weight-loss meta-analysis found insufficient evidence to recommend any herbal medicine it covered⁸. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of animal and cell models found alpha-mangostin lowered serum creatinine in acute kidney injury; no human trial has tested it. About 740 products list mangosteen, mostly as liquid juices, with capsules and tablets less common; see Form comparison.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) lists chemotherapy and radiation therapy as situations to avoid, because antioxidant effects may interfere with treatment⁷. US product labels ask for physician consultation before use alongside medications⁹.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

51 sources, 46 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources