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α-Mangostin Promotes DAF-16-Mediated Thermotolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans

Garcinia mangostana, commonly known as mangosteen, belongs to the Guttiferae family and is known as “the queen of fruits”. It is native to and most cultivated in tropical areas, particularly in Southeast Asian countries. In these countries, mangosteens, especially the pericarp, have traditionally been used as a medicine for the treatment of various diseases such as abdominal pain, urinary tract infections, and infected wounds and suppuration, and is thought to have many other pharmaceutical effects. 

α-mangostin is an abundant xanthone in the pericarp, and is thought to play a critical role in the medicinal effects of mangosteens. Experimental studies have confirmed the therapeutic properties of α-mangostin, such as its antioxidant, antitumoral, and anti-inflammatory effects. However, there is little scientific evidence to support their effectiveness in humans. At the same time, α-mangostin has been extensively studied using in vitro models, such as cell culture, but in vivo studies using real animals have not been reported.

Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the physiological effects of α-mangostin on C. elegans, which is a nematode that is used extensively in biological research, as well as the pathways and genes that comprise the underlying mechanisms. Wild-type C. elegans Bristol N2, daf-2 (e1370), and daf-16 (mgDf50) were provided by the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (CGC, MN, USA). And quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to examine the expression of heat shock proteins. Statistical significance was determined using a two-tailed t-test with the analysis software SPSS (IBM, NY, USA).

The results revealed that α-mangostin appeared to cause an increase in fat accumulation, which correlated with an increase in pharyngeal movement. The thrashing movement of the worms after heat stress also showed a correlation with an increase in heat shock protein mRNA expression. And the results of the heat stress tolerance assay suggest that α-mangostin promotes thermotolerance through daf-16.


Article by Nattapong Thammawong, et al, from University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.

Full access: http://mrw.so/517CGx

Image by Hafiz Issadeen, from Flickr-cc.

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