Context: Garcinia mangostana Linn. (Guttiferae) (GM) pericarp has been shown to exhibit good in vitro antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA); however, there is currently no available information regarding its in vivo antibacterial activity.

Objective: To examine in vivo antibacterial activity of G. mangostanaextract against MRSA.

Materials and methods: GM pericarp was extracted by ethanol (GM-EtOH) and methanol (GM-MeOH). The crude extracts were examined for in vitroantibacterial activity against MRSA using broth microdilution assay. The in vivo antibacterial activity of 10% GM-EtOH against MRSA was determined in a tape stripping mouse model of superficial skin infection for 9 days by evaluating transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and performing colony counts from cultured swabs.

Results: GM-EtOH showed greater in vitro activity against MRSA than GM-MeOH in broth microdilution assay with minimum inhibitory concentration 17 versus 20?μg/mL and minimum bactericidal concentration 30 versus 35?μg/mL, respectively. The GM-EtOH (13.20?±?0.49%) contained α-mangostin more than the GM-MeOH (9.83?±?0.30%). In the tape stripping mouse model, 10% GM-EtOH reduced the number of MRSA colonies (0–1) recovered from infected wounds (>100 colonies) on the first day of treatment, restored TEWL to normal levels on the fourth day, and had completely healed the wounds by day 9.

Conclusion: GM-EtOH showed promising in vivo antibacterial activity against MRSA in a superficial skin infection model in mice. It is of interest to develop a topical formulation of GM-EtOH to further study its potential as a novel antibacterial agent.


... (Auckland, New Zealand). Mueller Hinton agar (MHA), Mueller Hinton broth (MHB) and mannitol salt agar (MSA) were from Himedia (Mumbai, India). α- and γ-Mangostin were obtained from Chengdu Biopurify Phytochemicals Ltd. (Sichuan, China). ...