Recent updates on metabolite composition and medicinal benefits of mangosteen plant

Abstract

Background: Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) fruit has a unique sweet-sour taste and is rich in beneficial compounds such as xanthones. Mangosteen originally been used in various folk medicines to treat diarrhea, wounds, and fever. More recently, it had been used as a major component in health supplement products for weight loss and for promoting general health. This is perhaps due to its known medicinal benefits, including as anti-oxidant and anti-inflammation. Interestingly, publications related to mangosteen have surged in recent years, suggesting its popularity and usefulness in research laboratories. However, there are still no updated reviews (up to 2018) in this booming research area, particularly on its metabolite composition and medicinal benefits.

Method: In this review, we have covered recent articles within the years of 2016 to 2018 which focus on several aspects including the latest findings on the compound composition of mangosteen fruit as well as its medicinal usages.

Result: Mangosteen has been vastly used in medicinal areas including in anti-cancer, anti-microbial, and anti-diabetes treatments. Furthermore, we have also described the benefits of mangosteen extract in protecting various human organs such as liver, skin, joint, eye, neuron, bowel, and cardiovascular tissues against disorders and diseases.

Conclusion: All in all, this review describes the numerous manipulations of mangosteen extracted compounds in medicinal areas and highlights the current trend of its research. This will be important for future directed research and may allow researchers to tackle the next big challenge in mangosteen study: drug development and human applications.

Keywords: Garcinia mangostana L.; Manggis; Medicine; Natural product; Pharmaceutical.

Figure 1. A representative mangosteen tree grown at the experimental plot of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Malaysia (A) and a ripened mangosteen fruit (B).

Pictures are courtesy of Othman Mazlan, Institute of Systems Biology (INBIOSIS), UKM.

Figure 2. The molecular structure of various bioactive compounds from mangosteen especially xanthones (A–X), benzophenone (isogarcinol) (Y), flavonoid (epicatechin) (Z), and procyanidin (AA).