Mango

Mango

Mangoes have been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years^.Nearly half of the world’s mangoes are cultivated in India alone.Mango is generally sweet, although the taste varies with the type. There are vast varieties of them. Mangoes are widely used in cuisine. Sour, unripe mangoes are used in chutneys, pickles, or side dishes, or may be eaten raw with salt and chili. A cooling summer drink called panna is made from mangoes.Ripe mangoes are typically eaten fresh; however, they can have many other culinary uses. Mango Lassi, a popular drink made throughout South Asia is created by mixing ripe mangoes or mango pulp with yogurt and sugar. Ripe mangoes are also used to make curries.Mangoes are used in preserves like moramba, amchur (dried and powdered unripe mango) and pickles, including a spicy mustard-oil pickle.

Mango is used to make juices, smoothies, ice cream, fruit bars. Pieces of mango can be mashed and used as a topping on ice cream or blended with milk and ice as milkshakes.

Mango (raw)
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	272 kJ (65 kcal)	Thiamine (Vit. B₁)	0.058 mg
Carbohydrates	17 gm	Riboflavin (Vit. B₂)	0.057 mg
Sugars	14.8 gm	Pantothenic acid (B₅)	0.160 mg
Dietary fiber	1.8 gm	Vitamin B₆	0.134 mg
Fat	0.27 gm	Folate (Vit. B₉)	14 μg
Protein	0.51 gm	Vitamin C	27.7 mg
Vitamin A equiv.	38 μg	Calcium	10 mg
beta-carotene	445 μg	Iron	0.13 mg
Magnesium	9 mg	Phosphorus	11 mg
Potassium	156 mg	Zinc	0.04 mg

Mango is rich in a variety of phytochemicals and nutrients. The fruit pulp is high in prebiotic dietary fiber, vitamin C, diverse polyphenols and provitamin A carotenoids.Mango contains essential vitamins and dietary minerals and 17 amino acids. Mango peel and pulp contain other phytonutrients, such as the pigment antioxidants – carotenoids and polyphenols – and omega-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Phytochemical and nutrient content appears to vary across mango species. Up to 25 different carotenoids have been isolated from mango pulp, the densest of which was beta-carotene, which accounts for the yellow-orange pigmentation of most mango species. Peel and leaves also have significant polyphenol content, including xanthonoids, mangiferin and gallic acid.

The mango triterpene, lupeol, is an effective inhibitor in laboratory models of prostate and skin cancers. An extract of mango branch bark called Vimang, isolated by Cuban scientists, contains numerous polyphenols with antioxidant properties in vitro and on blood parameters of elderly humans.

Potential for contact dermatitis

Mango peel contains urushiol, the chemical in poison ivy and poison sumac that can cause urushiol-induced contact dermatitis in susceptible people. Those with a history of poison ivy or poison oak contact dermatitis may be most at risk for such an allergic reaction. Urushiol is also present in mango leaves and stems.

Nutrition