Antitumoral Properties of Xanthones from Mangosteen (Garcinia Mangostana L.) Hull

Abstract

Mangosteen is known as “the queen of fruits” in Malaysia, and the fruit is usually available during seasons from June to August yearly. This fruit comprises substantial amount of hull which disposes off as waste. However, it is the hull that has been discovered having various pharmaceutical properties such as antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and antitumoral. The sudden surge of antitumoral properties studies of mangosteen hull in recent years is due to the rising of cancer which is the leading cause of death worldwide. This review highlights the recent discoveries of antitumoral properties of mangosteen hull. The major xanthones isolated from mangosteen hull which attribute to antitumoral properties are ?-mangostin and ?-mangostin. They have been majorly discovered against cancers of colon, breast, and leukemia, followed by skin, bone, lung, brain, pancreatic, prostate, and head and neck.