The mangosteen fruit has been used historically for its medicinal properties in southeast Asia for upset stomach, inflammation and skin irritations.
This fruit is unique among all fruits from around the world because it contains a class of polyphenols called xanthones.
The most abundant xanthone in the mangosteen is alpha-mangostin, however, there are other xanthones of interest.
We have been isolating additional xanthones in our group which include β-mangostin, γ-mangostin, gartanin, 8-desoxygartanin, garcinone C and garcinone D, and 3-isomangostin.
The approach in our research group has been to use these different xanthones to understand how they inhibit CDK2 (cyclin dependent kinase 2).
Our recent findings published in Natural Products Research reveals that these xanthones were able to inhibit cancer cell growth in cell culture models
In addition, we also found that several of these xanthones were able to inhibit the activity of CDK2, an important protein involved in promoting cancer cell growth.
Reference: Nauman MC, Tocmo R, Vemu B, Veenstra JP, Johnson JJ. Inhibition of CDK2/CyclinE1 by xanthones from the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana): a structure-activity relationship study. Nat Prod Res. 2020 doi: 10.1080/14786419.2020.1777413.
