Chiang Mai Journal of Science

The antimicrobial, anticancer and cytotoxic activities of crude extracts of the pericarps of mangosteen fruits, generated using water or ethanol as the extractant, were evaluated and compared with those of a-mangostin. Due to higher total mangostin content in the ethanolic extract (EEM), this extract exhibited considerably stronger activities against pathogenic microbes and skin cancer cells than the aqueous extract (AEM) did. Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli showed high sensitivity to EEM, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 31.25 and 125 mg/ml, respectively. Selected bacteria and fungi exhibited good in vitro susceptibility to EEM, with minimum bactericidal and fungicidal concentrations (MBC and MFC) of less than 0.5 mg/ml. Shrinkage and lysis of bacteria were clearly observed after treatment with EEM or a-mangostin. EEM and a-mangostin also caused swelling and lysis of Candida albicans. EEM showed a great cytotoxic effect on B16F10 murine melanoma cells at 24, 48, and 72 h judged by IC50 values of less than 25 mg/ml, which were 15-100 times lower than IC50 values of AEM, but 4-10 times higher than those of a-mangostin. It was shown that the cell membranes of B16F10 cells were damaged after being treated with EEM and a-mangostin for 24 h.