Anti-Senescence and Anti-Photoaging Activities of Mangosteen Pericarp Extract on UVA-Induced Fibroblasts

Waste products from agricultural crops can become valuable if their benefits are discovered. Mangosteen, known as the “queen of fruits”, has a pericarp extract that has been reported to possess various biological activities, including antioxidation, anti-inflammation, antimicrobial activity, and UVB protection (in vitro and in vivo). In this work, we revealed that mangosteen pericarp extract (MPE) exhibits photoprotective properties in primary human dermal fibroblasts (PHDFs) exposed to ultraviolet A (UVA). The α-mangostin content, a major compound in MPE, was determined to be 60.9 ± 1.2% using HPLC. In an in vitro, cell-based assay, we first assessed the cytotoxicity of MPE on PHDFs using the MTT assay. The highest concentration of MPE that showed no cytotoxicity was 50.0 µg/mL. For antioxidative effects, MPE reduced intracellular ROS levels induced by H2O2, compared to H2O2-treated PHDFs. To assess the photoprotective effect of MPE, cells were pretreated with MPE for 24 h before exposure to UVA at an intensity of 5 J/cm2. Our data demonstrated that MPE pretreatment reduced the accumulation of senescent cells compared to UVA-induced senescent cells (7.1 ± 2.4% vs. 12.0 ± 0.2%, respectively). In addition, we examined key aging-related markers, including matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1) and collagen type I. The expression level of MMP-1 levels was 23,873.4 ± 5498.1 pg/mL in MPE-treated, UVA-induced PHDFs, compared to 38,929.1 ± 6971.4 pg/mL in untreated UVA-induced PHDFs. Meanwhile, procollagen type I in MPE-pretreated PHDFs was 56,443.3 ± 3623.8 pg/mL, compared to 37,137.4 ± 4614.8 pg/mL in UVA-induced PHDFs. These experimental results highlight the photoprotective properties of Garcinia mangostana peel extract, which contains α-mangostin as a major compound, and suggest its potential as an active ingredient in cosmeceuticals for protecting against UVA-induced aging. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the photoprotective effects of MPE on UVA-induced senescent cells.