Cytotoxic benzophenone derivatives from Garcinia species display a strong apoptosis-inducing effect against human leukemia cell lines.

We examined the in vitro effects of the benzophenone derivatives garcinol, isogarcinol, and xanthochymol on cell growth in four human leukemia cell lines. All of the compounds exhibited significant growth suppression due to apoptosis mediated by the activation of caspase-3. A loss of mitochondrial membrane potential was found in garcinol- and isogarcinol-induced apoptosis, but not in xanthochymol-induced apoptosis. The growth inhibitory effects of isogarcinol and xanthochymol were more potent than that of garcinol, which is a well- known cytotoxic benzophenone derivative.