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Illustrative mangosteen fruit and thick purple pericarp in orchard light

Natural Home Cures · Mangosteen science

Vitamin C
& Mangosteen

Beyond the familiar vitamin.
Structure, chemistry and the pericarp.

Collagen · Iron absorption · Handling
Explore vitamin C’s roles ↓
Illustrative sliced oranges and citrus fruit on sunlit limestone
A familiar food connectionEveryday fruit.
Essential vitamin C.Citrus is one dietary source. Mangosteen pericarp has its own research story.

Vitamin C helps build collagen, supports immune function and improves absorption of plant iron. We explain these roles, then examine a study of freeze-dried mangosteen pericarp and why handling can affect the amount measured.

CAscorbic acid
A water-soluble vitamin.

01 · Begin with the essentials

A Vitamin the Body
Cannot Make.

Humans cannot make vitamin C, so we need it from the diet. It helps with several everyday tasks, including building connective tissue and maintaining normal cell defenses.(1)

Conceptual connective-tissue illustration showing structural fibers
Illustrative tissue structure, not microscopy.

02 · The structural connection

Collagen Gives
Tissues Their Framework.

Collagen is a structural protein in skin, blood vessels, tendons and other connective tissues. Vitamin C helps the enzymes that build and maintain it.(1)

SkinBlood vesselsTendons

03 · More than one job

Protection. Absorption.
Normal Immune Function.

Antioxidant activity.

Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, helping manage reactive molecules that can damage cells when they accumulate.(1)

Plant-iron absorption.

Vitamin C helps the intestine absorb non-heme iron, the form found in plant foods.(1)

Immune function.

Immune cells use vitamin C as part of their normal work. This established nutrient role does not mean that taking more prevents every infection.(1)

Nutrition in focus

Vitamin C in Blood-Pressure Research

A 2012 analysis combined 29 randomized trials of vitamin C and blood pressure. The typical study used 500 mg daily for about eight weeks. Average systolic pressure, the top number, fell by about 3.8 mmHg; diastolic pressure, the bottom number, fell by about 1.5 mmHg. These short-term results concern the vitamin preparations studied, not mangosteen capsules.(6)

Which everyday foods provide vitamin C?

04 · Vitamin C across the diet

Familiar Foods. Colorful Sources.

Fruits and vegetables provide vitamin C. Amounts vary with the food and its handling.(1)

Illustrative oranges and citrus fruit

Citrus fruit

Oranges and grapefruit

Illustrative whole and sliced green kiwi fruit on limestone

Kiwifruit

A familiar vitamin C source

Illustrative ripe tomatoes

Tomatoes

Fresh fruit and tomato products

Illustrative baked potato on a plate

Potatoes

One of many vegetable sources

A study has also measured vitamin C in freeze-dried mangosteen pericarp.

05 · One pericarp study

17mg

per 100 g dry pericarp

Equivalent to the reported
0.017 g per 100 g.(2)

Measured in research material

Vitamin C Was Identified
in Freeze-Dried Pericarp.

In a 2023 study, researchers freeze-dried dark-purple mangosteen pericarp and analyzed its chemical composition. They identified ascorbic acid, the chemical name for vitamin C. The amount shown belongs to that dry research material.(2)

Which material?

Dried mangosteen pericarp.

Which amount?

The amount measured per 100 grams of that dry sample.

The way a sample is handled can affect the vitamin C result.

06 · A sensitive vitamin

Why Handling Can Change Vitamin C Levels

Vitamin C can break down with heat, oxygen and light. Storage conditions and time also affect how much remains in a food or plant material.(1), (4)

Heat

Processing temperature matters.

Oxygen

Exposure can promote oxidation.

Light

Light exposure can affect stability.

Time

Storage conditions matter.

Vitamin C stability depends on the preparation and storage conditions.

Natural Home Cures mangosteen capsules and fruit on sunlit limestone

07 · The whole-pericarp perspective

Whole Mangosteen Pericarp, Freeze-Dried

Our Freeze-Dried Rich Pericarp Mangosteen Capsules begin with the thick outer pericarp of Garcinia mangostana.

Pericarp studies describe vitamin C alongside pigments, minerals and other constituents. After harvest, our pericarp is freeze-dried and prepared for capsules.(2), (3)

Explore our mangosteen →
The research behind this article

Source References

6 sources Show referencesHide references
  1. 01
    Nutrition referenceVitamin C

    National Institutes of Health · Office of Dietary Supplements

    Full citation

    National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. “Vitamin C — Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.”

    View source ↗
  2. 02
    Pericarp composition studyChemical Composition and In Vitro Bioactive Properties of Mangosteen Pericarp

    Albuquerque et al. · Foods 12(5):994 · 2023

    Full citation

    Albuquerque BR, Dias MI, Pinela J, et al. “Insights into the Chemical Composition and In Vitro Bioactive Properties of Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) Pericarp.” Foods. 2023;12(5):994.

    View source ↗
  3. 03
    Mangosteen reviewPhytochemicals and Bioactive Properties of Mangosteen

    Yan et al. · Food Bioscience 79:108569 · 2026

    Full citation

    Yan M, Hou W, Wang H, Beyatli A, Arshad MS, Suleria HAR. “Phytochemicals and Bioactive Properties of Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.): A Comprehensive Review.” Food Bioscience. 2026;79:108569.

    View source ↗
  4. 04
    Harvest and storage reviewFactors Influencing Vitamin C Content of Horticultural Crops

    Lee & Kader · Postharvest Biology and Technology 20(3):207–220 · 2000

    Full citation

    Lee SK, Kader AA. “Preharvest and Postharvest Factors Influencing Vitamin C Content of Horticultural Crops.” Postharvest Biology and Technology. 2000;20(3):207–220.

    View source ↗
  5. 05
    Nutrition researchNIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin C — Consumer
    View source ↗
  6. 06
    Nutrition researchJuraschek et al. (2012): Effects of vitamin C supplementation on blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
    View source ↗