Cytotoxic geranylated xanthones and O-alkylated derivatives of alpha-mangostin.

Two new geranylated xanthones, 6-O-methylcowanin (4) and oliverixanthone (5), along with five known compounds, cowanin, rubraxanthone, cowaxanthone, cowanol, and beta-mangostin, have been isolated from the bark of Garcinia oliveri. For comparison of their biological activities, one mono- and seven di-O-alkylated alpha-mangostin derivatives were synthesized from alpha-mangostin. The structures of all compounds were assigned by spectroscopic methods (1D and 2D NMR and MS). Cytotoxicity of selected xanthones against MCF-7 and DLD-1 cell lines was examined. Evaluation of the structure-activity relationship showed that alpha-mangostin had the strongest activity, and all the O-alkylated alpha-mangostin derivatives showed reduced activity compared to the naturally occurring alpha-mangostin.