Washington, Oct 20 Exotic 'superfruit' mangosteen has anti-inflammatory properties which could help prevent the development of heart disease and diabetes in obese patients.

The study, published in BioMed Central's open access Nutrition Journal, has described how the juice of mangosteen lowered levels of C-reactive protein.

Dr. Jay Udani, M.D. from Medicus Research, California, worked with a team of researchers to carry out a randomized, double-blind placebo controlled trial.

He said, "For people drinking over half a liter of mangosteen juice a day, the degree of reduction in CRP levels was statistically significant - a reduction of 1.33mg/L compared to an increase of 0.9mg/L in the placebo group".

Inflammation, as measured here by CRP, is a predictor of cardiovascular disease and a precursor of metabolic syndrome. Reducing inflammation in obese people is a treatment goal, and a natural treatment may be preferable to other treatments which may carry the risk of side effect.

According to Udani, "Further studies with a larger population are required to confirm and further define the benefits of this juice, which was safe at all dosages tested". (ANI)