Alpha-Mangostin
Compiled from published pharmacological and botanical literature. Not independently verified by Herbuno. Spotted an error or have a correction? Flag it below →
| Chemical Class | Prenylated xanthone |
| Molecular Formula / CAS | C₂₄H₂₆O₆ · CAS 6147-11-1 |
| Primary Botanical Source(s) | Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) |
| Plant Part | Fruit pericarp (rind) |
| Typical Content | The most abundant and best-studied xanthone in mangosteen pericarp |
| Solubility / Format | Poorly water-soluble, soluble in ethanol, methanol and DMSO; available as a high-purity standardised isolate powder |
| Sourcing Status | Product-live — genuine match via Herbuno’s mangosteen extract line |
| Buy from Herbuno | Alpha-Mangostin 90% Powder (Mangosteen) |
Name origin: Alpha-mangostin takes its name from Garcinia mangostana, the mangosteen tree, with the “alpha” designation distinguishing it from related mangosteen xanthones such as gamma-mangostin and garcinone. Traditional use: Mangosteen pericarp has a long traditional-medicine history across Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, used for dermatitis, wound care, diarrhoea and urinary tract complaints, despite the fruit’s edible flesh being the primary culinary product — the medicinally active pericarp is otherwise typically discarded. Research trajectory: Alpha-mangostin was identified as the dominant xanthone of mangosteen pericarp and became the focus of substantial anticancer mechanism research from the early 2000s onward, progressing from broad cytotoxicity screening toward increasingly specific molecular target identification, including recent work on androgen receptor degradation relevant to prostate cancer and immune checkpoint modulation. Commercial source: Mangosteen pericarp is the standard commercial source of alpha-mangostin, and Herbuno’s standardised extract reflects this well-established, genuine botanical match.
Evidence for Alpha-Mangostin Applications
Alpha-mangostin has been studied extensively for anticancer activity across multiple tumour types. In a prostate cancer xenograft model, alpha-mangostin promoted cell cycle arrest and significantly decreased tumour growth in mice, one of the more substantial in-vivo demonstrations of its antitumour activity beyond cell-culture screening alone (Johnson et al. 2012). More recent mechanistic work has identified alpha-mangostin as capable of degrading the androgen receptor, including its AR-V7 splice variant implicated in treatment-resistant prostate cancer, via modulation of the endoplasmic reticulum chaperone protein BiP. Claim strength: Emerging.
In YD-15 tongue mucoepidermoid carcinoma cells, alpha-mangostin induced dose-dependent apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, acting through ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK signalling pathways, with chromatin condensation confirming programmed cell death at the cellular level (et al. 2016). This mechanistic specificity has been replicated across a range of other cancer cell lines including colon, breast, liver and lung models in the broader preclinical literature. Claim strength: Emerging.
Beyond oncology, a review of alpha-mangostin’s immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties describes efficacy across joint, digestive, metabolic, hepatic, neurological and respiratory disease models, with mechanisms including antioxidant free-radical scavenging enabled by its hydroxyl groups and modulation of inflammatory cytokine signalling (et al. 2025). The reviewers explicitly note that these applications warrant further preclinical and clinical study to validate efficacy and safety, reflecting the current state of the field as broad but not-yet-clinically-confirmed. Claim strength: Emerging.
Alpha-mangostin has also demonstrated antibacterial activity against methicillin-sensitive and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains, antiviral and antimalarial activity in laboratory testing, and has been identified as an agonist of the STING (stimulator of interferon genes) innate immune pathway, an area of growing pharmaceutical interest for vaccine adjuvant and immuno-oncology applications specifically. Separate research has also examined its inhibitory effects on fatty acid synthase and HIV-1 protease in enzyme assays, further illustrating the breadth of molecular targets investigated for this single compound across an unusually wide range of pharmacological screening programmes. Claim strength: Emerging.
Across this substantial preclinical literature, no dedicated human randomised controlled trial data specific to isolated alpha-mangostin was identified; reviewers consistently describe its safety profile as favourable in animal studies, with tumour inhibition observed without apparent toxicity to normal cells at effective doses, but note that clinical translation remains an open research priority rather than an established outcome. Claim strength: Moderate (preclinical safety).
Dosage & Formulator Specification
No formally established human clinical dosing range exists for isolated alpha-mangostin; published preclinical research has used cell-culture concentrations in the low micromolar range and animal oral doses in the tens of mg/kg range, with a favourable observed safety margin relative to antitumour efficacy in the reviewed rodent literature.
Analytical quantification of alpha-mangostin is performed by HPLC, and because mangosteen pericarp contains multiple related xanthones (gamma-mangostin, garcinone C, garcinone D, gartanin, among others), formulators should request alpha-mangostin-specific chromatographic data rather than a generic “total xanthones” specification.
Given alpha-mangostin’s poor water solubility, formulators working in aqueous or oral-bioavailability-sensitive applications should consider solubility-enhancement approaches (such as lipid or nanoparticle delivery systems), an active area of pharmaceutical formulation research given the compound’s otherwise favourable preclinical activity profile. Its melting point of approximately 180-181°C and solubility in ethanol, methanol and DMSO should inform solvent selection during both extraction quality control and finished-product formulation work.
Regulatory positioning for alpha-mangostin follows established mangosteen food and botanical-ingredient precedent in most markets, given mangosteen’s established status as an edible fruit; no alpha-mangostin-specific regulatory limit exists. Formulators should avoid making disease-treatment claims given the absence of human clinical trial data at this time, and should frame positioning around the compound’s well-documented preclinical research profile.
Frequently Asked Questions — Alpha-Mangostin
Its anticancer activity is the most extensively studied application, with demonstrated effects across multiple cancer cell lines and at least one in-vivo prostate cancer xenograft study showing reduced tumour growth. However, this evidence remains preclinical, with no dedicated human clinical trials identified for isolated alpha-mangostin specifically.
No dedicated human randomised controlled trial data specific to isolated alpha-mangostin was identified in the current research literature. Its research base is predominantly cell-culture and animal-model studies, with reviewers noting clinical translation remains an open priority.
Mangosteen pericarp contains several related xanthones including gamma-mangostin, garcinone C, garcinone D and gartanin. Formulators should request alpha-mangostin-specific analytical data rather than a generic total-xanthones figure, since these compounds have distinct individual research profiles.
It has poor water solubility, which is a practical formulation consideration, particularly for aqueous or oral-bioavailability-sensitive applications. Solubility-enhancement approaches such as lipid or nanoparticle delivery systems are an active area of research to address this limitation.
Related compounds: Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA), Licochalcone A