From the beginning of creation, God the Almighty foresaw that what He created was very good. The fruits were for food and later man discovered that there were other uses for them such as medicinal purposes.

On the sixth day of creation, God created male and female in His image and blessed them. And God said, "Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you shall be for meat." (Genesis 1:29).

"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day" (Genesis 1:31).

TITHING OF FRUIT

Fruits were also tithed according to Levitcus 27:30, "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's" it is holy unto the Lord."

"And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance of the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly" (2 Chron. 31:5).

"And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the Lord" (Nehemiah 10:35).

"Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (v.18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit " (Mt. 7:17-18).

"Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase" (Pro. 3:9).

Mangosteen is a tropical fruit found in south-east Asia.and is supposed to contain a lot of antioxidants to combat various sicknesses. They have other uses such as making dye, as well. The tree grows from 20 to 80 feet tall. The mangosteen has also been named as Queen of fruits.

WHAT ARE ANTIOXIDANTS?

In any major urban area, you are breathing polluted air. Millions of tons of polluted air are released into the atmosphere. When you breathe your lungs and body take in a wide range of pollutants, and no part of you is immune. The uncontrolled oxidants or free radicals are kept in check by antioxidants.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom:Plantae Division:Magnoliophyta Class:Magnoliopsida Order:Malpighiales Family:Clusiaceae Genus:Garcinia

Species:G. mangostana Binomial name Garcinia mangostana

The place of origin of the mangosteen tree is unknown and some people claimed it to be the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas, while others say it was in the forests of Kemaman, Malaysia. It was suggested the tree might have been domesticated in Thailand and also in Burma, Malaysia and Singapore. The tree was planted in Ceylon about 1800 and in India in 1881. The tree is also fairly common in the Philippines and introduced to England in 1855. From the Kew Garden, England which is called by its proper name, the Royal Botanic Garden introduced it into Trinidad between 1850 and 1860 but it did not bear fruit until 1075. It takes a long time before the tree bears fruit. It was not until 1903 that it reached the Panama Canal Zone. There are some trees scattered in parts of the West Indies.

For many years dried mangosteen fruits have been shipped from Singapore to Calcutta and then on to China for medicinal use. As to its many uses in folk medicine, here is what botanist Julia Morton has written:

"The sliced and dried rind is powdered and administered to overcome dysentery. Made into an ointment, it is applied on eczema and other skin disorders. The rind decoction is taken to relieve diarrhea and cystitis, gonorrhea and gleet [a watery discharged. ed] and is applied externally as an astringent lotion. A portion of the rind is steeped in water overnight and the infusion given as a remedy for chronic diarrhea in adults and children.

"Filipinos employ a decoction of the leaves and bark as a febrifuge and to treat thrush, diarrhea, dysentery and urinary disorders. In Malaya, an infusion of the leaves, combined with unripe banana and a little benzoin is applied to the wound of circumcision. A root decoction is taken to regulate menstruation. A bark extract called 'amibiasine', has been marketed for the treatment of amoebic dysentry."

Mayo Clinic rheumatologist April Chang-Miller, M.D

Can mangosteen cure arthritic or other inflammatory conditions?

Answer

A number of laboratory and animal studies suggest that mangosteen has significant anti- inflammatory effects. Unfortunately, at this time, there have been no human studies to determine if these anti-inflammatory effects will be helpful to people with arthritis or other inflammatory conditions.

Mangosteen is a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia. Despite its name, mangosteen is not related to the mango. The fruit is the size and shape of a tangerine, with a thick, dark rind and creamy flesh. Mangosteen is marketed as a supplement, available as a juice and in capsule form. The juice typically consists of a mix of mangosteen and other fruit juices, such as apple,pear and blueberry - with an often undisclosed amount of mangosteen juice.

Like many fruits and vegetables, mangosteen is a rich source of antioxidants. Antioxidants are natural compounds in foods that may protect against certain diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. Mangosteen also contains some unique chemicals called xanthones, which appear to have potent anti-inflammatory effects in the laboratory.

So for the time being, drink mangosteen juice if you enjoy the taste. But until human studies are completed, claims that mangosteen can cure arthritis or any other disease are just that - undocumented claims.

Can drinking mangosteen juice reduce arthritis inflammation and pain?

Carole, Minnesota

A number of laboratory and animal studies suggest that mangosteen has significant anti-inflammatory effects. Unfortunately, at this time, there have been no human studies to determine if these anti-inflammatory effects will be helpful to people with arthritis or other inflammatory conditions.

Like many fruits and vegetables, mangosteen is a rich source of antioxidants. Antioxidants are natural compounds in foods that may protect against certain diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. Mangosteen also contains some unique chemicals called xanthones, which appear to have potent anti-inflammatory effects in the laboratory.

Mangosteen twigs are used as chewsticks in Ghana. The fruit rind contains 7 to 14% catechin tannin and rosin, and is used for tanning leather in China. It also yields a black dye.

Wood: In Thailand, all non-bearing trees are felled, so the wood is available but usually only in small dimensions. It is dark-brown, heavy, almost sinks in water, and is moderately durable. It has been used to make handles for spears, also rice pounders, and is employed in con- struction and cabinetwork.

QUEEN VICTORIA AND THE MANGOSTEEN

Queen Victoria on her throne, surrounded by retainers eager to obey her every wish, with the luxuries of the world at her beck, longed for something that even the resources of the British Empire could not procure for her. She longed for a taste of mangosteen, the wondrous fruit of the East. Requests and offers of reward proved unavailing. No one, even the most enterprising, could bring it to London...the Queen of England never tasted mangosteen.

It is hard to get fresh mangosteen in Toronto, but there is a fruit speciality store on Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West where you may buy a pound of fresh mangosteens for $5.99. It does not seem to be sold in the Dominion Supermarkets, Loblaws Supermarkets or T & T Supermarkets. The store that sells fresh mangosteen is owned by Chinese originally from Malaysia, and mangosteens are originally from Malaysia and South East Asia.

Mangosteen Juices are sold under the name XanGo, the first company to market the juice.

www.xango.com

Mangosteen tablets are also marketed by a variety of brands.

CONCLUSION

God clearly stated in the first book of Genesis six thousands years ago that He gives fruit to mankind for food. Mayo Cliinic reported that there is no conclusive evidence that mangosteen can cure arthritis or any other disease. Everyone has to decide for himself or herself whether there are any benefits derived from taking mangosteen products. Mangosteen also contains some unique chemicals called xanthones, which appear to have potent anti-inflammatory effects in the laboratory. For so many different companies to market mangosteen tablets and juice show that potentially, there is a very strong market for mangosteen. Thank God for His wisdom in creating fruit like the mangosteen for food.

See: GOD Provides Herbs For Food: Fresh LEMON GRASS Drinks help cure CANCER

http://hubpages.com/hub/godprovidesherblemongrasscurecancer