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Botany
A large tree, with
a dense and spreading crown. Leaves are oblong to oblong-lanceolate,
10-30 cm long. The flowers are yellow, small, 3-4 mm long, borne
on erect and hairy panicles, as long as the leaves. The fruit
is yellow, fleshy, oblong-ovoid, and slightly compressed.
It is a widely cultivated tree
for its fruit. It has several varieties in cultivation, the most popular
are the "carabao" and "piko," and the former the
preferred export variety. The fruits are of varying shades of yellow,
elliptical and somewhat flatterned, thin-skinned, with a large flattened
seed in the center, surrounded by the edible yellow pulp.
Distribution
Widely cultivated for
its delicious fruit.
Chemical constituents and properties
Mangiferin; mangin; piuri-yellow
dye; benzoic acid; citric acid; tannin, 10%.
The leaves contain 43-46 percent euxanthin acid and some euxanthon.
Seed contains a fixed oil, oleostearin.
The bark exudate yields a resin, gun, ash, and tannin.
Mangostine, 29-hydroxymangiferonic acid, mangiferin and flavonoids have
been isolated from the stem bark. Leaves and flowers yield an essential
oil containing humulene, elemene, ocimene, linalool and nerol.
(Source)
Properties
• Root, diuretic;
bark, astringent; seeds, astringent and mifuge; leaves, pectoral.
• Considered antiseptic, antibacterial, antiinflammatory, diaphoretic,
stomachic, vermifuge, cardiotonic and laxative.
Insert
Young unripe mangos.
Parts used and preparation
Leaves, kernel, bark and
fruit.
Uses
Nutritional
Good source of iron (deficient in calcium); excellent source of vitamins
A, B, and C. Fruit contains citric, tartaric and mallic acids.
Food: As fruit or mango-ade.
Folkloric
Decoction of root is considered
diuretic.
Bark and seeds are astringent.
Resin is used for aphthous stomatitis.
Cough: Drink infusion of young leaves as needed.
Diarrhea: Take decoction of bark or kernel as tea.
Hot lotion from bark used for rheumatism.
Gum resin from bark, mixed with coconut oil, used for scabies and other
parasitic skin diseases.
Juice of leaves used for dysentery.
Tea of leaves with a little honey used for hoarseness and aphonia, 4
glasses daily.
Powdered dried leaves, 1 tbsp to a cup of warm water, 4 times daily,
used for diabetes.
Ashes of burned leaves used for scalds and burns.
Infusion of young leaves used in asthma and cough.
Tea of powdered dried flowers, 4 times daily for diarrhea, urethritis.
Juice of peel of unripe mangoes used for skin diseases.
Seed is vermifuge and astringent.
Infusion of powdered dried seeds used fir asthma, diarrhea, dysentery,
menorrhagia, bleeding piles, round worms.
In Indian traditional medicine, seeds used for diarrhea.
Studies
• Antibacterial / Phytochemicals: Study
showed that leaf extracts of M. indica possess some antibacterial activity
against S aureus, E coli, P aeruginosa and provides a basis for its
medical use in Uganda. Phytochemical study showed saponins, steroids and triterpenoids, alkaloids, coumarins, anthracenocides, flavonones, tannins and reducing sugars.
• Hematologic benefits: Effects of
Aqueous Extract of Mangifera indica L. (Mango) Stem Bark on Haematological
Parameters of Normal Albino Rats: Stem bark extracts of MI showed
positive effects on the haemopoietic system of test rats.
• Antiinflammatory, Analgesic and
Hypoglycemic: Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and hypoglycaemic
effects of Mangifera indica Linn. (Anacardiaceae) stem-bark aqueous
extract: Results of the study support the folkloric use of
the plant for painful arthritic and other inflammatory conditions, as
well as T2DM.
• Anti-Clostridium tetany activity:
The activity of Mangifera indica L. leaf extracts against the tetanus
causing bacterium, Clostridium tetani: Study showed anti-clostridum
tetany activity.
• Anti-asthmatic: Mangifera indica
stem bark effect on the rat trachea contracted by acetylcholine and
histamine: Study showed MI blockage of histaminic and muscarinic
receptors, supporting the traditional use of MI stem back in the treatment
of asthma.
• Immunostimulant: Immunomodulatory
activity of alcoholic extract of Mangifera indica L. in mice: Study
showed increased humoral antibody titer and delayed type hypersensitivity
in mice suggesting a potential for a drug with immunostimulant properties.
• Antihyperglycemic: Antihyperglycaemic
effect of Mangifera indica in rat: Study showed leaf extract of
MI possess hypoglycemic activity, possibly due to reduction in intestinal
absorption of glucose.
• Flavonoids / Antihyperlipidemic Effect: Flavonoids from M indica eefectively reduce lipid levels in serum and tissues of rats with induced-hyperlipidemia. Degradation and elimination of cholesterol were enhanced.
• Antioxidant: Oral administration of flavonoids showed significant antioxidant action in cholesterol-fed experimental rats. The activities of free radical-scavenging enzymes were significantly elevated and lipid peroxide content was significantly reduced in flavonoid-treated hypercholesterolemic rats.
• Anti-diarrheal Activity: Study of the methanolic and aqueous extracts of seeds of M indica showed significant anti-diarrhea activity, the effect partly attributed to the effect on intestinal transit.
• Anti-Diabetic Activity: Study showed all extracts had significant antihyperglycemic effect in type 2 model rats. The ethanol extracts of stem-barks reduced glucose absorption gradually during the whole perfusion period in type 2 rats.
• Ethnopharmacology / Mangiferin: Mangiferin is a major C-glucosylxanthone from the stem bark, leaves, heartwood, roots and fruits of M indica and has been reported to have a variety of pharmacologic activities including antioxidant, radioprotective, antitumor, immunomodulatory, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antibacterial, among others, supporting the numerous traditional uses of the plant.
• Polyphenols / Antiulcerogenic Activity: Study showed oral pretreatment with mangifera leaf decoction decreased the severity of gastric damage in induced-gastric lesions. Two main phenolic compounds isolated were mangiferin and C-glucosyl-benzophenone. The findings show the potential gastroprotective properties of the aqueous decoction from M indica leaves.
• Anti-Cancer / Polyphenols: A Texas Agrilife Research study by food scientiists Dr. Susanne Talcott and Dr Steve Talcott found that polyphenol extracts from mango promote anticancer activity in certain colonn and breast cancer cells in lab. The polyphenols also showed some effects on lung, leukemia and prostate cancers. Polyphenolics, more specifically gallotannins, belong to a class of bioactive compounds that can prevent of stop cancer cells. Further studies will look into efficacy and clinical relevance.
Availability
Small and large-scale
planting for fruit production.
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