Science & Research for Garcinia mangostana (Mangosteen)

Among the powerful phytonutrients found in the rind of the mangosteen, xanthones stand alone in their impressive benefits. Scientific studies suggest xanthones may promote healthy bodily function.

Researchers have identified dozens of biologically active xanthones in the mangosteen fruit. Today, researchers are just beginning to uncover the powerful scientific properties behind the mangosteen fruit.

Xanthones are:

• A unique class of biologically active compounds possessing numerous bioactive capabilities — such as antioxidant properties.
  
  
• A restricted group of plant polyphenols, biosynthetically related to the flavonoids.
  
  
  • polyphenol – a group of plant chemical substances characterized by the presence of more than one phenolic group. Polyphenols are responsible for the color of some plants and are considered strong antioxidants with potential health benefits.
    
    
  • flavonoid – over 5,000 naturally occurring flavonoids have been characterized from various plants. The beneficial effects of plant-derived food are often attributed to flavonoid compounds, rather than known nutrients, as they show a wide range of biological effects.
    
    
• Chemically speaking, planar-six carbon molecules in a conjugated ring system consisting of a backbone molecule and various chemical groups attached to it. The backbone consists of two benzene rings bridged through a carbonyl group and oxygen. Each ring is connected in a fused formation not allowing free rotation about the carbon-carbon bonds. This unique backbone along with type and position of the attached chemical groups define specific functionalities (properties) of xanthones.
  
  

XANGO® Juice's Effect on CRP Reduction

A double-blind placebo-controlled human clinical to evaluate the ability of XANGO Juice to reduce CRP levels in overweight persons with CRP.

Jay Udani, MD, CPI is the founder, CEO and Medical Director of Medicus Research. He is a board-certified Internist who served as Chief Resident at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center before completing two fellowships in Health-Services Research and Integrative Medicine at Cedars-Sinai/UCLA. He was one of the first physicians to become a Certified Principal Investigator (CPI) through the APPI/ACRP and as a Key Opinion Leader in the field of Integrative Medicine he has designed and performed over 60 clinical trials, and published over 40 articles and textbook chapters. He is the recipient of many prestigious awards including the 2008 Natural Products Association Clinician of the Year, the AMA National Achievement Award, the Harvard Medical School Pinkney Fellowship in Orthopaedic Research, and was voted Best Physician Specialist and Best Medical Speaker in Los Angeles by the Daily News.

The study was an 8-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with a 2-week washout period for subjects who were currently taking anti-inflammatory or antioxidant products.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of multiple dosages of XANGO Juice compared with placebo in the improvement of CRP and antioxidant levels in obese patients with a confirmed history of CRP.

XANGO Juice was shown to reduce certain parameters of CRP and to improve weight and body fat in an overweight population. These results may have implications in the future prevention of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but longer studies will be needed to explore the role of CRP in the reduction of these diseases.

XANGO Juice demonstrated an ability to reduce inflammation (as measured by HS-CRP), at all 3 dosages while the placebo group actually experienced a small increase in the amount of inflammation. HS-CRP decreased in all 3 dosages vs. placebo over the 8 week study with the 9 oz. XANGO Juice group being statistically significant when compared to placebo.

Xanthone Bioavailability

A pre-clinical, preliminary 28-day study of XANGO Juice identified the bioavailability of xanthones to determine how many xanthones the body actually absorbs and the pathway they travel. A validated xanthone analysis method was used to measure the quantities of the alpha-mangostin xanthone found in blood plasma.

Michael W. Pugh, B.S., director of XANGO's Product Development department. Michael Pugh has more than 15 years experience in the natural products industry and is currently head of research and development for XANGO, LLC. In this capacity, Pugh has implemented safety studies, initiated analytical work and validation, established pharmacokinetics and oversees all clinical work.

Charles River Laboratories, a pre-clinical lab that was established in 1947. It is world renowned for its research models in safety, pharmacokinetics, and in-vitro work. It employs 7,500 employees, including 500 researchers that include PhDs, MDs and DVMs.

The validated plasma method used LC-MS/MS technique to identify and quantify the amounts of alpha-mangostin in the plasma. This new analysis can quantify levels as low as 1 nanogram per ml (ng/ml).

The preliminary research demonstrates that the body absorbs xanthones in low dosages and that very high levels of xanthone consumption actually result in decreased absorption efficiency. In addition, preliminary results showed long-term daily consumption of XANGO Juice increases the levels of xanthones in the blood.

More specifically, the study showed the following regarding alpha-mangostin:

• In approximately 3.5 hours, the xanthone has been absorbed during digestion.
  
  
• Females have a more efficient absorption rate than males.
  
  
• Long-term consumption of XANGO Juice causes a blood loading effect.
  
  
• Alpha-mangostin is absorbed the way nature intended, at very low doses of consumption, such as the amount contained in XANGO Juice.
  
  
• At very high levels, the absorption efficiency of the xanthone decreases.
  
  

This study allows for a solid foundation for future clinical trials. Also, these preliminary findings show artificially inflating a product with xanthone extracts does not add any value.