Efficacy of Garcinia mangostana L. (mangosteen rind extract) to reduce acne severity

Background: in vitro studies showed that extract of mangosteen rind (emr) (garcinia mangostana l.) containing xanthones has antibacterial effect against propionibacterium acnes and also anti-inflammatory effect. the aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of emr in reducing acne vulgaris (av). methods: a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial was done on 94 subjects (18-30 years) with mild and moderate av. the treatment group was given 400 mg emr 3 times daily orally, for 3 weeks and control group was given placebo capsules. as a standard therapy, all subjects were given a topical cream of 0.025% retinoic acid applied on acne lesions during night time. efficacy was assessed by counting the acne lesion number as well as proportion of subjects with more than 20% decrease in lesion. the decrease of plasma malondialdehyde (mda) levels were also measured. results: after 3 weeks of treatment, acne lesion counts was significantly reduced in both groups [from 934 to 584 lesion (37%) in treatment group, p < 0.001 and from 832 to 608 lesion (27%) in control group, p < 0.001]. comparison between the two groups revealed a non significant difference (p > 0.55). the proportion of subjects whose acne lesion reduced ≥ 20% was 73% (33 of 45 subjects) in treatment group vs 66% (27 of 41 subjects) in control (p > 0.2). the level mda was reduced from 1.16 to 1.02 nmol/ml in treatment group and from 1.32 become 1.02 nmol/ml in control (p > 0.48). conclusion: extract of mangosteen rind given orally for 3 weeks clinically reduced acne severity better than placebo, although statistically was not significant. antioxidant effect of emr seem to be unspecific in reducing acne severity.