Breast cancer and cervical cancer are the highest causes of women death in developed and developing countries, compared to other cancers. Currently, anticancer therapy was classified as less effective because, besides having side effects for the body, anticancer therapy is also not selective because it not only kills cancer cells but also normal cells. Mangosteen pericarp is one of the medicinal plants which become the object of research. The active compound in mangosteen is xanthone, it has activity as an anticancer. α-mangostin is able to inhibit cell proliferation and induce programmed cell death (apoptosis), through various mechanisms including α-mangostin activity in breast cancer cells through inhibition of the HER2/P13K/Akt and MPK signaling pathway against breast cancer cells, in addition, α-mangostin also has activity against cervical cancer through the mechanism of cytochrome C release, increases Bax, decreases Bcl-2 and it’s able to activate caspase9 / caspase3 in cervical cancer. Several studies have been conducted to test the anticancer activity of xanhtone derivative compounds. These studies can be used as learning materials or as a basis for subsequent development to obtain compounds that have better physicochemical and bioactivity properties.