Magniferin A

Mangifera indica is a large, dome-shaped evergreen tree in the Anacardiaceae family that grows to a height of 10-45 meters . It is native to tropical Asia and has been cultivated and all parts of the tree have been used medicinally in India for over 4000 years. The fruits of the mango tree have also been consumed as a food for many hundreds of years in and outside of AsiaMangiferin is a plant natural polyphenol of C-glycosylxanthone structure and various pharmacological activities. It can be found in many plant species, among which the mango tree (Mangifera indica) is one of the primary sources. Mangiferin is also present in some medicinal herbs, influencing their therapeutic and preventive properties, and in honeybush (Cyclopia sp.), a popular South African herbal tea. Mangiferin dissolves well in water, so it can be easily extracted into infusions and decoctions. In the mangiferin molecule, four aromatic hydroxyl groups determine its strong antiradical and antioxidant properties. Mangiferin is also an efficient iron chelator, therefore preventing the generation of hydroxyl radical in Fenton-type reactions. Numerous published in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies, demonstrated many other activities of mangiferin: analgesic, antidiabetic, antisclerotic, atimicrobial and antiviral, cardio-, hepato-, and neuroprotective, antiinflammatory, antiallergic, MAO inhibiting and memory improving, as well as radioprotective against X-ray, gamma, and UV radiation. Several studies indicated also its ability to inhibit cancerogenesis and cancer cells growth by apoptosis induction in vitro and in vivo. It is also used in cosmetics, due to antioxidant and UV-protecting properties.