• Kitti Torrungruang
• Suchada Chutimaworapan

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the toxicity of mangosteen pericarp extract to human gingival fibroblasts in vitro.

Materials and methods Human gingival fibroblasts were exposed to mangosteen extract at the concentrations of 0, 100, 200, 400, 800 or 1,600 µg/ml for 24 or 48 hours. The changes in cell viability were observed by inverted phase contrast microscopy and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay.

Results MTT assay showed that mangosteen extract at the concentrations of 200 µg/ml or less did not significantly affect cell viability. The extract at 400 µg/ml did not affect the number of viable cells at 24 hours, but significantly decreased cell survival at 48 hours. The extract at 800 µg/ml or higher resulted in a significant decrease in cell viability within 24 hours, and the number of viable cells was further declined after 48-hour exposure. The results from morphological analysis generally agreed with those from the MTT assay. However, at the concentration of 400 µg/ml, morphological changes were detected 24 hours earlier than the changes in MTT measurements.

Conclusion These results indicate that mangosteen extract used in this study is not toxic to human gingival fibroblasts for up to 48 hours if its concentration is kept at 200 µg/ml or less.

(CU Dent J. 2006;29:75-82)