Phytomedicine j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . d e / p h y m e d Prenylated xanthones from mangosteen as promising cholinesterase inhibitors and their molecular docking studies a b s t r a c t Garcinia mangostana is a well-known tropical plant found mostly in South East Asia. The present study investigated acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activities of G. mangostana extract and its chemical constituents using Ellman's colorimetric method. Cholinesterase inhibitory-guided approach led to identification of six bioactive prenylated xanthones showing moderate to potent cholinesterases inhibition with IC 50 values of lower than 20.5 ␮M. The most potent inhibitor of AChE was garcinone C while ␥-mangostin was the most potent inhibitor of BChE with IC 50 values of 1.24 and 1.78 ␮M, respectively. Among the xanthones, mangostanol, 3-isomangostin, garcinone C and ␣-mangostin are AChE selective inhibitors, 8-deoxygartanin is a BChE selective inhibitor while ␥-mangostin is a dual inhibitor. Preliminary structure-activity relationship suggests the importance of the C-8 prenyl and C-7 hydroxy groups for good AChE and BChE inhibitory activities. The enzyme kinetic studies indicate that both ␣-mangostin and garcinone C are mixed-mode inhibitors, while ␥-mangostin is a non-competitive inhibitor of AChE. In contrast, both ␥-mangostin and garcinone C are uncompetitive inhibitors, while ␣-mangostin is a mixed-mode inhibitor of BChE. Molecular docking studies revealed that ␣-mangostin, ␥-mangostin and garcinone C interacts differently with the five important regions of AChE and BChE. The nature of protein–ligand interactions is mainly hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding. These bioactive prenylated xanthones are worthy for further investigations.