Mangosteen in the News

The Oakland Press recently released (Nov. 11, 2007) an article about a family in Michigan that is battling chronic staph infections. The family's daughter, Jessica, has experienced 12 infections including one that nearly killed her, causing irreparable harm.

The Journal of the American Medical Association says more people died in 2005 from MRSA infections in the United States than from AIDS!

In the article Dr. Amod Tootla is quoted extensively. The following is an excerpt from The Oakland Press:


Dr. Amod Tootla practices general surgery in Bloomfield Hills, Grand Blanc and Rochester Hills and has been in the profession for 45 years. Tootla said the fruit of the mangosteen has been used as a folk medicine for years and, though he's careful not to call it a cure, he believes the mangosteen fruit can be beneficial to those with MRSA. "The Western societies have paid little attention to folk medicines," Tootla said.

Tootla said key active ingredients called xanthones are found in mangosteen juice. Xanthones are biologically active chemicals found in a few tropical plants. Current research on xanthones suggests they are beneficial in helping fight many conditions including allergies; microbial, fungus and viral infections; high cholesterol; inflammation; skin disorders; gastrointestinal disorders; and fatigue, Tootla said.

Tootla said xanthones have been found to support and enhance the body's immune system, and exhibit strong antioxidant activity. "I'm not saying we don't need drugs. We do," Tootla said. "We should look at all our alternatives."

Tootla said there also needs to be studies on the mangosteen plant. Tootla said there have been studies on the mangosteen fruit in Southeast Asia, but it has not been extensively studied in the United States.

"There have been a lot of studies on this, but in Japan, India, Indonesia, Thailand," Tootla said. "There are a lot of natural things that can benefit but in the Western world we ignore them."

To read the complete article, click here.