LC-QTOF-MS analysis of xanthone content in different parts of Garcinia mangostana and its influence on cholinesterase inhibition

Abstract

Mangosteen is one of the best tasting tropical fruit widely cultivated in Southeast Asia. This study aimed to quantify xanthone content in different parts of Garcinia mangostana by LC-QTOF-MS and determine its influence on their cholinesterase inhibitory activities. The total xanthone content in G. mangostana was in the following order: pericarp > calyx > bark > stalk > stem > leaves > aril. The total xanthone content of pericarp was 100 times higher than the aril. Methanol extracts of the pericarp and calyx demonstrated the most potent inhibitory activities against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) with IC₅₀ values of 0.90 and 0.37 µg/mL, respectively. Statistical analysis showed a strong correlation between xanthone content and cholinesterase inhibition. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed α-mangostin and γ-mangostin of pericarp as the key metabolites contributing to cholinesterase inhibition. Due to the increasing demand of mangosteen products, repurposing of fruit waste (pericarp) has great potential for enhancement of the cognitive health of human beings.

Keywords:

• α-Mangostin
• γ-mangostin
• Garcinia mangostana
• LC-QTOF-MS
• xanthone
• cholinesterase inhibition

Author contributions

K.Y.K and V.M. designed the experiment. K.Y.K, V.M. and C.W.C performed the research and analysed data. K.Y.K, C.W.C and V.M. wrote the paper. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Universiti Sains Malaysia and the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for providing the research facilities and grant. The project was funded by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) (203/PFARMASI/6711539) from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia.