dc.description.abstract | Species of the genus Garcinia (Clusiaceae) have been used for centuries in different
folk medicine for the treatment of several ailments, as well as food supplements.
Evidence from previous studies has demonstrated a rich depository of structurally
diverse secondary metabolites with a wide array of biological activities. The present
chapter summarizes the information on the ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and anti-
bacterial potential of the Garcinia genus against drug-sensitive and multi-drug
resistant (MDR) phenotypes. A literature survey of the published information was
collected from databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, SciFinder, Scopus, Web of
Science, conference proceedings, books, M.Sc., and Ph.D. dissertations. Phytochemical studies showed that xanthones, benzophenones, and flavonoids as the main sec-
ondary metabolites. Pharmacological investigations with crude extracts and isolated
compounds from G. kola, G. lucida, G. nobilis as well as other Garcinia species revealed
a broad range of antibacterial activity against several drug-sensitive and MDR phe-
notypes. Among the isolated compounds, α-mangostin, a prenylated xanthone from
G. mangostana was found to display the most potent antibacterial effects against
both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria while (−)-hydroxycitric acid from
some Garcinia fruits is utilized in the pharmaceutical industry as an anti-obesity agent.
Thus, this review demonstrated that there are convincing in vitro studies confirming
the traditional use of Garcinia species to treat bacterial infections. Furthermore, the
reviewed data herein would be a valuable reference tool for future researchers
seeking to explore the application potentials of Garcinia species for the development
of antibacterial agents | en_US |