The Mangosteen fruit (Shown in picture on the right) has nothing what so ever to do with the regular mango that we all know and love. It is grown on a tropical evergreen tree and was listed in the “Species Plantarum” by Linnaeus in 1753.
So even thought it is being touted as a super fruit today, it has been in existence for a fair bit of time. The fruit starts out life with light green pigmentation which in its natural habitat of covered canopy may even appear white. As it begins to ripen the green darkens and the final stage sees it become almost purple.
The Mangosteen has a thick purple cover when ripe. It is topped with a thick green capsicum like cover called the pericarp, and the insides are white or cream in color. The pericarp is just as rich in nutrients as the inner soft portion of the fruit.So unlike the skin of other fruits that you peel and discard, the pericarp of the Mangosteen is actually used along with the rest of the fruit. In fact it is included in the juices made out of the Mangosteen fruit as well.
The Mangosteen Fruit Vs The Acai Berry
There are bound to be comparisons when two fruits are both found to be so nutritious and healthy. There are also some glaring differences between the two fruits. Here are a few similarities and differences between the two. The two are very rich in antioxidants which make them an excellent defence against free radicals in the body. So they are both helpful in terms of slowing down aging of the cells of the body. The Mangosteen Fruit is primarily found in southeast Asia, while the Acai Palm is predominantly found in South America.
The Mangosteen Tree grows between 20 and 80 feet tall which would be between 7 to 25 meters. This is much shorter than the Acai Berry Palm which grows from 15-30 meters. In fact some of its long pointy leaves are as much as 3 meters in size. The quantity of fruit grown and harvested in a tree is also different. The average harvest from a Mangosteen tree is of about 500 fruit, however some high yielding ones may produce up to 5000 in a season. With the Acai Palm the fruit grows like dates in bunches of 500 to 700 fruits.
Nutritionally both are placed by food researchers in the Super Fruit category. However there have been 65 scientific papers written about the Mangosteen fruit as compared to only 9 written on the Acai berry. This does not mean that the Mangoteen fruit is more nutritious. They are both rich in antioxidants, but of different natures. However people suffering from Polycythemia Vera must avoid Mangosteen and those suffering from Cancer must avoid Acai Berry.
