Garcinia fruits : their potential to combat metabolic syndrome

The genus Garcinia is made up of more than 250 species that belong to the Clusiaceae or Guttiferae family. Linnaeus named the genus Garcinia for Laurent Garcin (1683-1752), a Franco"Swiss botanist who raveled extensively in Asia. Garcinia species comprise evergreen, dioecious trees and shrubs that flourish in lowland tropical forests [1]. The tree is generally large with oblong or elliptic leaves and plump flowers, arranged in clusters or individually. The fruit color ranges from yellow to brown to purple, and the fruit is various sizes according to the species. The fruit pulp is juicy, with the color ranging from white to orange or pinkish, and it generally tastes sour to sweet. Garcinia mangostana (mangosteen), named the "queen of fruits", is the most well"known among Garcinia species, but other species such as Garcinia cambogia have also gained attention in pharmacological studies. Garcinia humilis, also known as achacha or Bolivian mangosteen, has good potential to be marketed as a dessert fruit and is now commercially grown in Australia. Garcinia fruits have long been used for culinary purposes and food preservatives in Asian countries. The bark exudates, or gamboge, of various Garcinia species have also been used since ancient times to dye cloth and to make transparent varnish in combination with other substances. The shipping of gamboge to Europe occurred in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, where it was used primarily as a coloring material by Flemish painters.