Basically our food consists of the six major groups:

1. Protein
2. Carbohydrates
3. Fat
4. Fiber
5. Vitamins
6. Minerals

The last two items can be grouped into a category called Micronutrients.
Micronutrients has been the subject of research in universities and laboratories for more than a century.
The motivation to do research probably began when it was observed that people who ate a certain type of food seemed to be immune to certain diseases.
Fortunately for most of us, the outcome of those research has been documented.
It turned out that there are more micronutrients out there other than vitamins and minerals.
Vitamins are divided into two main categories, the water-soluble and the fat-soluble vitamin.
The minerals are indispensable for the proper functioning of our organs.
A strange fact is that some mineral can work best only in the presence of another mineral.
More and more botanicals were found to contain new micronutrients with corresponding health benefits.
Some of the important ones include CATECHINS (found in GreenTea); PROANTHOCYANIDINS (found in Grape Seed Extract) and POLYSACCHARIDES (the secret weapons in Aloe Vera).
The latest Micronutrients finding is XANTHONES ( found in abundance inside the pericarp of the Mangosteen (a tropical fruit from South East Asia).
Xanthones are named Xanthone alpha, Xanthone Beta, Xanthone gamma etc, all of which correspond to different benefits towards different parts of the human body.
Some of the important characteristics of Xanthones are:

1. Anti-viral
2. Anti-fungal
3. Anti-bacteria
4. Anti-inflammation
5. Anti-histamine
6. Anti-aging

Amazing as it is, all these discoveries are by no means complete nor final.
Scientists believe there are more secrets to be unlocked in our botanicals.
When new findings are disclosed, our lives will be the better for it.