Abstract

Purpose: For the prevention and cure of disease, patient use various types of chemical and drug agents. Along with their curative effect, almost all drugs have some destructive effects and side-effects. Due to the minimal and/or none of unwanted side-effect, recently, the use of herbal remedy as the drug of choice becomes the preference choice. The mangosteen, Garcinia mangostana, contains various types of polyphenols. It has been used as a traditional medicine from the ancient times till present days. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the biological properties of mangosteen in relation to health promotion effects. Design/methodology/approach: Several research papers from well-known database (such as PubMed, Google scholar, Scopus and Sciencedirect) were reviewed without considering publication-times to understand the biological properties of mangosteen. Findings: Mangosteen and its xanthone exerted diverse biological activities such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy, anti-bacteria, anti-fungal, anti-malaria, anticancer and anti-diabetes. Originality/value: Based on these studies, mangosteen is beneficial dietary supplement of overall human health.