Traditionally, healers in Southeast Asia have used the mangosteen fruit to treat skin infections, wounds, dysentery and urinary tract infections. A new $1.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute will enable researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago to study the fruit and its potential as a treatment for prostate cancer.
Led by Dr. Jeremy Johnson, associate professor of pharmacy practice at the UIC College of Pharmacy, the researchers will expand on prior work, which identified phytochemicals in the fruit that can disrupt the function of the androgen receptor, a critical target in prostate cancer.
"Mangosteen contains unique xanthones, which are a type of antioxidant, that promote androgen receptor degradation," Johnson said. "This mechanism has not been identified with any other compounds and this approach could help deal with the very serious and common problem of drug resistance with FDA-approved drugs for prostate cancer."
Many in the US may not be familiar with the mangosteen fruit, Johnson told eurekalert.org. It was not approved for import into the country until 2007 but he says it may be found in local Asian grocery stores or Chinatown.