Editing XanGo (section)

==False advertising claims==

===Pericarp xanthones and potential health effects===
According to a 2006 warning by the US [[Food and Drug Administration]], XanGo's distributors had illegally used marketing materials to promote mangosteen juice claiming more than 20 human health benefits, including "anti-inflammatory," "anti-microbial," "anti-fungal," "anti-viral," "anti-cancer," "anti-ulcer," "anti-hepatotoxic," "anti-rhinoviral," and "anti-allergic" effects.<ref name="FDA-warning">[http://www.casewatch.org/fdawarning/prod/2006/xango.shtml U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning letter], September 20, 2006</ref> Promotional literature for the product cites [[antioxidants]] from the inedible pericarp of the fruit as providing health benefits. None of these claims, however, has scientific proof established by [[peer-reviewed]] research and human [[clinical trials]], as discussed below.

The [[American Cancer Society]] profile of mangosteen juice stated there was no reliable evidence that mangosteen juice, purée, or bark is effective as a [[cancer treatment]] in humans.<ref>"[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Mangosteen_Juice.asp?sitearea=ETO Profile of Mangosteen Juice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203212952/http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_Mangosteen_Juice.asp?sitearea=ETO |date=2007-02-03 }}." American Cancer Society], revised June 1, 2005. Retrieved February 16, 2007.</ref>  As of April 2013, it also stated that the mangosteen "fruit has been shown to be rich in antioxidants. Very early laboratory studies suggest it may have promise as a topical treatment for acne. Early small laboratory and animal studies suggest that further research should be done to determine whether it can help to prevent cancer in humans."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/pharmacologicalandbiologicaltreatment/mangosteen-juice|title = Complementary and Alternative Medicine &#124; American Cancer Society}}</ref>

In 2009, XanGo scientific adviser, David Morton, participated in a four-part debate on the disputed claims of mangosteen health benefits.<ref name=Crown1>{{cite journal | title = Beyond the Mangosteen: A Future Full of Color | author=Crown I |journal=Engredea News and Analysis, NewHope 360 |date=April 1, 2009|url= http://newhope360.com/food-amp-beverage/beyond-mangosteen-future-full-color | access-date = 2010-01-04}}</ref><ref name=Morton>{{cite journal | title = Mangostana - Commentary on the Mangosteen | author=Morton DA |journal=Engredea News and Analysis, NewHope 360 |date=April 16, 2009|url= http://newhope360.com/news/g-mangostana-commentary-mangosteen | access-date = 2010-01-04}}</ref><ref name=Crown2>{{cite journal | title = A Rebuttal on Mangosteen | author=Crown I  |journal=Engredea News and Analysis, NewHope 360 |date=May 5, 2009|url= http://newhope360.com/news/rebuttal-mangosteen | access-date = 2010-01-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title = The Mangosteen Controversy | author1=Gross P |author2=Crown I |journal=Engredea News and Analysis, NewHope 360 |date=May 21, 2009|url= http://newhope360.com/supplements/mangosteen-controversy | access-date = 2010-01-04}}</ref>

===U.S. FDA warning===
On September 20, 2006, the United States [[Food and Drug Administration (United States)|Food and Drug Administration]] issued a [[FDA Warning Letter|warning letter]] to Xango LLC International in response to the company's promotion of Xango juice as an aid to treat and/or cure various diseases.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2006/ucm076067.htm |title=Warning Letter, Xango LLC, Intl |author=Collins BB, District Director|date=20 September 2006 |website=U.S. Food & Drug Administration |publisher=US Food and Drug Administration, Inspections, Compliance, Enforcement, and Criminal Investigations |access-date=15 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302140609/https://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2006/ucm076067.htm |archive-date=2 March 2012}}</ref>  The agency's letter warned that Xango juice had not been properly tested for safety and efficacy, and as a proposed new drug, it could not be legally sold in the U.S. without prior approval of the FDA. Xango was warned that it could face enforcement action including seizure and/or injunction of products or suspension of business. Under FDA drug labeling rules, Xango, as manufacturer, is responsible for satisfying scientific criteria to make health claims on its product labels and all marketing materials. As of September 2008, the case remained open.

===Effectiveness===

In February 2006, the U.C. Berkeley Wellness Newsletter, sponsored by the [[University of California at Berkeley]], said that "Mangosteen marketers make farfetched and unsubstantiated claims for their products." The newsletter notes that "there are no clinical trials, and what happens in a test tube or animal may not occur in a human. Any reported benefits in humans have been anecdotal. No one even knows if the processed fruit juice and capsules retain the potentially beneficial compounds. What’s more, the juice is typically a mix of fruit juices&nbsp;– with an undisclosed amount of mangosteen in it."<ref>[http://www.wellnessletter.com/html/wl/2006/wlAskExperts0206.html "Ask the Experts"], U.C. Berkeley Wellness Newsletter, February 2006.</ref>

[[Ralph W. Moss (writer)|Ralph Moss]], an [[alternative cancer treatment]] advocate,<ref>[http://www.cancerdecisions.com/about.html Ralph W. Moss, PhD], Author Biography, The Moss Reports</ref> has said of mangosteen juice:
{{quote|In my opinion, what we have here is simply an overpriced fruit drink. Fruit drinks are often healthful beverages. But the only reason I can see that the promoters of mangosteen can get away with charging $37 for this product is that they are playing on patients' hopes and fears in a cynical way. Without the health claims, open or implied, the product could only be sold for at most $5 or $6 (which, for example, is the cost of antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice).<ref>{{Citation
 |author=Ralph W. Moss |publication-date=May 16, 2004 |title=Cancer Decisions |at=A Friendly Skeptic Looks at Mangosteen, Part II |periodical=The Moss Reports |publisher=CancerDecisions.com |url=http://www.cancerdecisions.com/051604.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040603013421/http://cancerdecisions.com/051604.html |archive-date=June 3, 2004 }}</ref>}}

A 2008 medical [[case report]] described a patient with severe [[acidosis]] possibly attributable to a year of daily use (to lose weight, dose not described) of mangosteen juice (brand not described) infused with [[xanthonoid]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wong LP, Klemmer PJ |title=Severe lactic acidosis associated with juice of the mangosteen fruit Garcinia mangostana |journal=American Journal of Kidney Diseases |volume=51 |issue=5 |pages=829–33 |date=May 2008 |pmid=18436094 |doi=10.1053/j.ajkd.2007.12.043}}</ref> as occurs in the manufacture of Xango juice. The authors proposed that chronic exposure to alpha-[[mangostin]], a xanthone, could be toxic to [[mitochondria]]l function,<ref>{{cite journal  |vauthors=Matsumoto K, Akao Y, Yi H, etal |title=Preferential target is mitochondria in alpha-mangostin-induced apoptosis in human leukemia HL60 cells |journal=Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry |volume=12 |issue=22 |pages=5799–806 |date=November 2004 |pmid=15498656 |doi=10.1016/j.bmc.2004.08.034}}</ref> leading to impairment of [[cellular respiration]] and production of [[lactic acidosis]].

===Italian antitrust action===

In 2011, Italy's [[Competition law|antitrust]] and [[consumer protection]] authority, the [[Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato|AGCM]], suspended the activities of Xango in response to over-broad health claims, as well as possible violations of [[pyramid scheme]] laws.<ref>{{cite news|last=Giovanna|first=Cavalli|title=Una lobby per il succo esotico Nei guai la bevanda "miracolosa"|url=http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2011/gennaio/03/Una_lobby_per_succo_esotico_co_9_110103017.shtml|access-date=20 January 2014|newspaper=Corriere Della Sera|date=3 January 2011|language=it}}</ref>