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

Garcinia mangostana, commonly known as mangosteen, is a tropical fruit with a reddish-purple pericarp. In Southeast Asia, the pericarp has traditionally been used as a medicine to treat various diseases, including inflammation, wounds, and bacterial infections, as well as aging. α-mangostin is an abundant xanthone in the pericarp, and is thought to play a critical role in the medicinal effects of mangosteens. Previous studies have demonstrated numerous beneficial effects of α-mangostin, such as cytotoxicity in cancer cells. However, the effects of this xanthone in in vivo have not yet been studied. In the current study, C. elegans was used to test the in vivo effects of α-mangostin using several bioassays, including fat accumulation, pharyngeal movement (pumping) and heat-stress assays. Quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) was also used to examine the expression of heat shock proteins. 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.