Health benefits of fruits: Mangoes

Last week, after the article on grapefruit was published, I got a call from Prof. Oyeku Akibu Oyelami, and he told me about a study he and some people did on grapefruit seed. By the way, I have talked about him several times here, but for those who do not know him, he is a medical doctor who also uses herbs to treat his patients.

The study is titled The effectiveness of grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) seeds in treating urinary tract infections.

Three middle-aged males and one female were diagnosed with urinary tract infections (UTIs) between 2001 and 2003 in the Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, a unit of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.

Of the four patients, only the female was asymptomatic. The three males’ urine samples contained Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella species, and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively, while the female sample contained Escherichia coli. All four patients were treated with grapefruit seeds (Citrus paradisi) orally for two weeks, and they all responded satisfactorily to the treatment except the man with a P. aeruginosa isolate.
The initial profuse growth of Pseudomonas isolates in the patient, resistant to gentamicin, tarivid, and augmentin, later subsided to mild growth, with a reversal of the antibiotic resistance pattern after two weeks’ treatment with grapefruit seeds. So, the data suggested an antibacterial characteristic of dried or fresh grapefruit seeds (C. paradisi) when taken at a dosage of 5 to 6 seeds every eight hours, which is comparable to that of proven antibacterial drugs.

Professor Oyelami told me that the seeds were chewed. Once again, this is a confirmation of what Dr C Pfeiffer said: “for every drug that benefits a patient, there is a natural substance that has the same effect.”

This week, I will be talking about mango, a member of the cashew family Anacardiaceae. It is botanically called Mangifera indica.
Mango is packed with polyphenols, which are plant compounds that act as antioxidants to protect your body. Some of them are mangiferin, catechins, anthocyanins, gallic acid, kaempferol, rhamnetin, and benzoic acid. Among the polyphenols, mangiferin has gained the most interest and is sometimes called a “super antioxidant” since it is especially powerful.

Mangoes are a good source of carotenoids, pigments that give fruits and vegetables their red, yellow, or orange colours and act as antioxidants. Mangoes contain vitamins A, E, and K, as well as folate, magnesium, potassium, copper, and iron. One cup of mango provides 67 per cent of the recommended daily value of vitamin C.

The leaves, in particular, are believed to help treat diabetes and other health conditions and have been used in healing practices like Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

Young green mango leaves are very tender, so they are cooked and eaten in some cultures.

Mango seed has aroused special scientific interest because it has been reported as a biowaste with a high content of bioactive compounds (phenolic compounds, carotenoids, vitamin C, and dietary fibre) that improve human health. It is a good source of carbohydrates (58–80 per cent) and protein (6–13 per cent) and has an attractive profile of essential amino acids and lipids (6–16 per cent); it is rich in oleic and stearic acids.

It possesses phytosterols, carotenoids, tocopherol, polyphenols (mangiferin, hesperidin, vanillin, penta-o-galloyl-glucoside, rutin, quercetin, kaempferol, etc.), and phenolic acids (gallic acid, caffeic acid, ellagic acid, ferulic acid, etc.).
These phytochemicals are known for their high antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and antiplatelet aggregation properties. Phytochemicals present in mango seed kernels showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Vibrio vulnificus, Candida albicans, and Xanthomonas campestris.
It has been reported to have anticancer activity against breast and colon cancer and antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, which is attributed to its high antioxidant capacity. An antidiarrheal effect has been reported and attributed to its high tannin content. Mango seed has great potential for use in the food industry. Additionally, the physicochemical characteristics of mango seed fat are very similar to those of commercial cocoa butter.

Yes, mango seeds are edible, but only of unripe mangoes. Once the mango is ripened, the seeds tend to harden, and it is difficult to eat them. However, they can be used in powdered form, as oil or butter. The traditional Mexican Mole Sauce is often flavoured with mango seeds for the perfect natural tanginess.

According to a study, adding mango seeds to your curry dishes helps create a distinct flavour.

Test-tube and animal studies have found that mangiferin may counter free radical damage linked to cancers, diabetes, and other illnesses. Animal studies have found that mangiferin may protect heart cells against inflammation, oxidative stress, and cell death.

Test-tube and animal studies have observed that mango polyphenols reduce oxidative stress. They have also been found to destroy or stop the growth of various cancer cells, including leukaemia and cancers of the colon, lung, prostate, and breast.

In one study, mango leaf extract given to rats at 2.3 mg per pound of body weight (5 mg per kg) helped counteract artificially induced oxidative and inflammatory biomarkers in the brain.

In research published in The Official Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, a group of people who ate mango every day had more improvement in their constipation symptoms than those who ate an equivalent amount of fibre. The mango group also adhered to their treatment plan more easily and showed increases in healthy fatty acids and other measures of digestive wellness, like gastric secretions that aid in the digestion of food.
According to dietitian Andrea Mathis, RDN, LD, “Mango seeds are not poisonous and can be safely consumed. They are flavourful and full of nutrients as well as a source of antioxidants, but it is best to retrieve them from an unripe mango. Seeds from ripe mangoes are typically hard and bitter.”

“One of the things I really like about mango is that it is high in soluble fibre. A lot of fruit has fibre in it, but mango specifically has soluble fibre, which can be really good because it forms a gel in our digestive tract. It can actually bind the fat and cholesterol and pull it out of your body before it gets absorbed into the bloodstream,” says Sarah Rivenburgh, a registered dietitian at OhioHealth who specialises in oncology nutrition.

Mangoes may support heart health, boost the immune system, improve skin health, support eye health, improve digestive health, and lower your risk of certain cancers. Mango leaves are rich in plant compounds. They have anti-inflammatory properties, may protect against fat gain, may help combat diabetes, may have anticancer properties, may treat stomach ulcers, may support healthy skin, and may benefit your hair.

A study titled Mangifera indica L. Leaf Extract Induces Adiponectin and Regulates Adipogenesis by Giuseppe Sferrazzo et al. concludes that mango leaf extract (MLE) may represent a possible pharmacological tool for obese or metabolic syndrome patients.

A study titled Mango seed: Functional and nutritional properties by Cristian Torres-León et al. concludes that mango seed is a potential source of nutritional food ingredients due to the high quality of its fat and protein and the high content of antioxidants and compounds that have antimicrobial activity.