Research summarised here is on individual ingredients, not on CannonBalm products.

LIPOSOMAL BOTANICALS

Designed for enhanced delivery into the skin.

ULTIMATE and MUSCLE-AID both carry liposomal mangosteen — our hero botanical, made liposomal and built into every jar alongside whole mangosteen and mangosteen extract.

Mangosteen, ginger and turmeric beside laboratory glassware with a conceptual liposome illustration.

ULTIMATE adds liposomal ginger and liposomal turmeric. Both balms add liposomal vitamin C and liposomal vitamin E. Five premium liposomal actives, chosen for the same reason we chose everything else in the formula: to bring more of nature’s most remarkable chemistry to the skin.

Liposomal mangosteen · liposomal ginger · liposomal turmeric · liposomal vitamins C & E

In the balm: Liposomal mangosteen, vitamin C and vitamin E in ULTIMATE and MUSCLE-AID. Liposomal ginger and turmeric in ULTIMATE.

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At a glance

Liposomal mangosteen — ULTIMATE · MUSCLE-AID

Liposomal ginger — ULTIMATE

Liposomal turmeric (curcumin) — ULTIMATE

Liposomal vitamin C — ULTIMATE · MUSCLE-AID

Liposomal vitamin E — ULTIMATE · MUSCLE-AID

Partner forms — whole mangosteen · mangosteen extract (both balms)

Research areas — liposomes in skin science · mangosteen xanthones · gingerols · curcuminoids · antioxidant vitamins · collagen biology

Mangosteen leads the liposomal line-up

Mangosteen has been at the heart of CannonBalm from the very beginning. It is the plant the brand was built around and the reason mangosteen appears in our logo.

So when we brought liposomal actives into ULTIMATE and MUSCLE-AID, mangosteen came first.

LIPOSOMAL MANGOSTEEN LEADS THE LINE-UP IN BOTH BALMS

It sits alongside whole mangosteen fruit and a concentrated mangosteen extract, so both balms carry mangosteen’s xanthone chemistry — the compounds studied across the inflammatory pathways behind sore joints and muscles — in a liposomal form as well.

The deep-purple pericarp of the mangosteen holds an extraordinary family of compounds called xanthones. Researchers have identified at least 68 distinct xanthones across Garcinia mangostana, with approximately 50 reported in the pericarp — led by α-mangostin, one of the most extensively researched fruit compounds in modern botanical science.

Read the critical review of mangosteen xanthones →

Explore Mangosteen →

What is a liposome?

A liposome is a microscopic sphere built from phospholipids — the same family of molecules that forms the membranes around every living cell. Phospholipids naturally arrange themselves into double-layered shells, creating a tiny vesicle with a water-loving core and an oil-loving wall.

That simple structure is what makes liposomes so useful.

Water-soluble actives can be carried in the core. Oil-soluble actives can sit within the membrane. The result is a carrier that holds very different kinds of chemistry in the one elegant package.

Liposomes are among the most extensively studied carrier systems in skin science. A major review in the European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences describes their long history in topical formulation and the ways phospholipid vesicles interact with the skin’s own lipid layers.

Read the liposomes-and-skin review →

Liposomal mangosteen on the skin

Mangosteen pericarp extract has already been built into liposomes and applied directly to skin in published research. A 2024 study loaded mangosteen pericarp extract into liposomes and tested the formulation topically against a superficial skin infection, reporting strong activity from the liposomal mangosteen preparation.

Read the mangosteen-pericarp liposome study →

Formulation science around α-mangostin points in the same direction. In skin-permeation research, carrier systems built around α-mangostin increased its permeation by approximately 1.8 to 8.0 times and its deposition into viable epidermis and dermis by approximately 2.5 to 2.9 times, depending on the formulation.

1.8× TO 8.0× PERMEATION · 2.5× TO 2.9× DEPOSITION IN VIABLE SKIN

Carrier design shapes what a remarkable molecule can do at the skin.

Read the α-mangostin skin-permeation research →

Liposomal turmeric — curcumin, made liposomal

Curcumin is turmeric’s famous golden polyphenol — one of the most widely researched plant compounds in the world, studied in human cartilage cells against the inflammatory signalling behind painful joints. It is also notoriously hard to work with in ordinary form.

ULTIMATE uses LipoAvail® liposomal curcumin from EffePharm. In the manufacturer’s own oral studies, it showed up to 107.5 times the relative bioavailability of regular curcumin.

See EffePharm’s LipoAvail® data →

Liposomal curcumin has also been developed for topical use: a 2025 study formulated curcumin in liposomes as a potent topical antioxidant system.

Read the topical liposomal curcumin study →

Liposomal ginger — warming, gingerol-rich chemistry

Ginger root is rich in gingerols and shogaols — the pungent compounds behind its unmistakable warmth. ULTIMATE uses a liposomal ginger extract standardised for gingerols, bringing one of the world’s best-loved warming roots into the balm in liposomal form.

Ginger has serious human research behind it. In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 247 people with knee osteoarthritis, a standardised ginger extract reduced knee pain on standing compared with placebo. Australian nurse researchers have also studied topical ginger compresses and patches in adults with osteoarthritis, with participants reporting meaningful improvements in pain, stiffness and overall wellbeing.

Read the ginger knee-osteoarthritis trial →

Read the topical ginger study →

Explore Ginger & Turmeric →

Liposomal vitamins C and E — the antioxidant partnership

Vitamin C is the skin’s principal water-soluble antioxidant. Vitamin E is its principal oil-soluble antioxidant. Together they form one of the best-known partnerships in skin biology: vitamin E protects cell membranes and lipids, and vitamin C helps regenerate vitamin E so it can keep working.

Vitamin C is also essential for collagen — the structural protein that gives skin and connective tissue their strength.

A liposome is a natural home for that partnership. Its water-loving core and oil-loving membrane mirror the two very different chemistries of vitamins C and E. A 2025 study found that a liposomal formulation of a vitamin C derivative increased its skin permeability.

Read the liposomal vitamin C skin study →

Explore Vitamins C & E →

Liposomes inside an oil-and-wax balm

ULTIMATE and MUSCLE-AID are built on Grampians Olive Co organic extra virgin olive oil, organic virgin coconut oil and East Gippsland organic beeswax. The result is a rich, slow-melting balm designed to stay where it is applied.

Our liposomal actives are blended through that oil-and-wax base, so every application carries the liposomal mangosteen, vitamins and — in ULTIMATE — the liposomal ginger and turmeric across the skin together with the rest of the formula.

Explore The Base →

Technical evidence map

CannonBalm materials — liposomal mangosteen (ULTIMATE · MUSCLE-AID) · liposomal ginger (ULTIMATE) · liposomal turmeric / curcumin (ULTIMATE) · liposomal vitamin C and liposomal vitamin E (ULTIMATE · MUSCLE-AID).

Liposomal curcumin — EffePharm LipoAvail®: up to 107.5× relative oral bioavailability versus regular curcumin (manufacturer data).

Liposomal mangosteen research — mangosteen-pericarp-extract-loaded liposomes studied topically on skin (2024).

α-Mangostin skin delivery — formulation-dependent permeation enhancement of approximately 1.8–8.0× and viable-skin deposition enhancement of approximately 2.5–2.9× versus control suspension.

Liposomes and skin — established body of research on phospholipid vesicles in topical formulation.