Tuesday, June 25, 2013

X IS FOR .......

X  IS  FOR...XANTHONES

Found this last week right after I made my last ABC Wednesday post for W.  I had my bird book right beside me  when I suddenly thought, I wonder if there is a bird name beginning with X.  Hmm... all I came up with was Xanthocephalus  -- the Latin name for the yellow-headed blackbird.  I didn't think it was fair to use a Latin word  for our project, so I sat and mulled it over a little bit and then I had some inspiration!  Cephalus had to be to do with head, for example the illness encephalitis,  and this is a yellow headed blackbird.  Well of course Xantho must mean yellow.  So off I went on a trip through Google and what a lot of interesting things I found there!  I skipped over the chemical stuff but did find that XANTHONE is an organic compound.

Among other things, I discovered that it is found in the mangosteen fruit, a fruit native to South East Asia.  It is a yellow, latex-like substance actually found in the skin of the mangosteen seed pod.


The Mangosteen


The fruit and rind.

Showing the reddish yellow inside rind where Xanthones are found.

 I expect all you health conscious readers already know that the mangosteen fruit is full of anti-oxidents.  I had never heard of it but apparently you can purchase health drinks that are derived from the mangosteen and its seed pod. (I'd look into this carefully first since it is also used in pesticides!)

I wonder if this is the first appearance of XANTHON on ABC Wednesday, if so I would be 'chuffed' to use a good Yorkshire word.  Maybe you know, Roger.

Once again this is my entry for our fabulous project ABC WEDNESDAY which is almost through with its eleventh round of the alphabet.  Thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt, our founder and Roger, our esteemed manager.  To see who was brave enough to tackle the letter X this week please click HERE.


11 comments:

photowannabe said...

Well you certainly did a lot more research than I did this week.
Its just been too busy to do anything.
If you look at the post before this ABC post you will see why.
have a wonderful week Chris.

Reader Wil said...

Thank you for this nice post.I know this fruit. We often ate it in Indonesia , where I lived as a child. I cannot remember what we called it.
Have a great week, Chris!
Wil, ABCW Team.

Jane and Chris said...

I've heard of it but never eaten one...the insides are pretty looking though...like an edible pin cushion!
Jane x

Roger Owen Green said...

I don't recall seeing the word. But I will tell you that using the Latin words for the birds (or plants) is NOT cheating! Still, great job.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Leslie: said...

What an eXtremely eXciting post! You really worked hard to give us a fascinating post, Chris. Kudos!

Leslie
abcw team

LOLfromPasa said...

Well done! I am truly impressed.

Nana Jo said...

What a terrific, interesting post! I learned several things, including that fruit, which I had never seen before. I love mango, so I would most likely enjoy a mangosteen as well. I think you are the only Xanthon user, as far as I remember!

(I'm smiling at the comment you left on my X post. Your poor childhood friend! Her last name was bound to incite a response, but coupled with that first name, she didn't stand a chance!)

Nana Jo said...

What a terrific, interesting post! I learned several things, including that fruit, which I had never seen before. I love mango, so I would most likely enjoy a mangosteen as well. I think you are the only Xanthon user, as far as I remember!

(I'm smiling at the comment you left on my X post. Your poor childhood friend! Her last name was bound to incite a response, but coupled with that first name, she didn't stand a chance!)

Gattina said...

That proves again that you learn a lot through blogging !!

jabblog said...

It is a most attractive fruit. I wonder if it tastes as good as it looks?

snafu said...

You learn something new every day - particularly when catching up with your posts.
I do not understand this obsession with anti-oxidants, our body takes care of that all by itself, or humans would never have survived living in an oxygen rich atmosphere before pharmacists were invented. I suppose people will believe anything if there is a chance it will smooth out the wrinkles and make them look young again :)