In recent years, consumers continuously seek food items that can provide not only nutritional benefits but also additional health benefits. In this regard, food manufacturers look at the enrichment of food products with different nutraceuticals to satisfy such a society's demand [10,24,55]. Among the traditional classification of nutraceuticals, we can find polyphenols, carotenoids, quinones, organosulfur compounds, saponins, and alkaloids [10]. Polyphenols and carotenoids are one of the most sought-after components to be incorporated in foods due to their antioxidant activity [76], however, depending on their bioactivity, particular compounds have been recently explored in this field. This is the case with Mangiferin which is also a potential nutraceutical in the formulation of functional foods ascribed to its various bioactivities. Mangiferin belongs to the classification of xanthones (included in the polyphenol classification), which are synthesized in several natural systems, including plants, lichens, fungi, etc. [18]. Scientists have recently focused on Mangiferin due to its multiple biological activities, such as radioprotective, cardiotonic, antidiabetic and antioxidant, among many others (see Fig. 1) [8,32].

As illustrated in Fig. 1, this natural compound receives an IUPAC nomenclature name as C-glucoside xanthone [2-C-β-d-glucopyranosyl-1, 3, 6, 7-tetrahydroxyxanthone] (molecular formula molecular formula C19H18O11), which is mainly extracted from fruits from “Mangifera indica” (mango tree) because of its significant content in it, e.g., mango tree contains approximately 42 mg/kg in seed kernel, 1690 mg/kg in mango peel, 4 mg/kg in mango pulp, while the major content is contained in stem bark ca. 71 g/kg [2,44,45,49,75]. However, this biomolecule can also be found in plant-based products from families of Anacardiacae, Gentianaceae, Iridaceae and other herbal sources, such as Iris unguicularis, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, etc. [28]. Mangiferin in its pure form is a yellow crystalline solid (with molecular weight estimated as 422 g/mol) and has been documented in a number of therapeutic uses and thus involved in many applications in pharmaceutical purposes and food supplements [30].

Due to its current applications, Mangiferin has been extracted from leaves, stems, roots and fruits from such plant products, however, due to the complexity of the containing natural systems, its extraction, isolation and purification (polishing) becomes a challenge as high purity degree is needed for its incorporation in any food items or formulation. So far, Mangiferin has been mainly extracted using solvent extraction assisted with maceration, heating and sonication [46]. However, as chemistry evolves, new extraction and purification techniques are being explored for obtaining bioactive molecules including Mangiferin. Unfortunately, there is a need to reveal the best findings about the extraction and purification of this xanthone and their comparison. Indeed, there is no report joining the main pathways toward the extraction of Mangiferin. Therefore, this review timely collects the main developments about the extraction of this compound, as well as the purification strategies reported by the research community. A particular emphasis is paid to the most innovative strategies and outcomes representing a step forward in the purification of Mangiferin. Apart from providing an overview of the properties of the biomolecule, we also give evidence on different food systems in which Mangiferin has been incorporated. Finally, after analyzing the current literature, the main research gaps to be investigated by the scientists toward the purification of this bioactive xanthonoid are given.