mangostin and Asthma

α- and γ-Mangostin, which are the major xanthones purified from a Mangosteen, Garcinia mangostana Linn., exhibit a wide range of anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. Here, we assessed their therapeutic effects in a mouse model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic asthma. Animals were treated with α- and γ-mangostins orally for 3 days at doses of 10 and 30 mg/kg daily, 1h before the OVA challenge. Administration of α- and γ-mangostins significantly reduced the major pathophysiological features of allergic asthma, including inflammatory cell recruitment into the airway, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), and increased levels of Th2 cytokines. In addition, α- and γ-mangostins attenuated the increases in phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) activity, phosphorylation of Akt, and NF-κB in nuclear protein extracts after OVA challenge. In conclusion, α- and γ-mangostin may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of allergic asthma.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Anti-Asthmatic Agents; Asthma; Bronchial Hyperreactivity; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Garcinia mangostana; Immunoglobulin E; Interleukins; Lung; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; NF-kappa B; Ovalbumin; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; PTEN Phosphohydrolase; Transforming Growth Factor beta1; Xanthones