Dietary fiber is an important functional nutrient and its concentration in different mango varieties, ranging between 16% and 28% soluble and 29% and 50% insoluble fiber. Principally, dietary fibers are carbohydrate polymers such as cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and pectin, which provide structural rigidity to the plant cell wall. Depending on the water solubility, dietary fibers are categorized as soluble dietary fiber and insoluble dietary fiber.
Mango kernel and seed has 1.8 to 2% crude dietary fiber. Fibers from mango seed, like other vegetable fibers, are mainly constituted of cellulose.
The soluble and insoluble dietary fiber content was 19.2 and 38.9 % in mango pulp and 20.9 and 43.1 % in dried mango pulp respectively.
Dietary fiber finds wide applications in food and pharmaceutical industries and holds high promise as a potential food additive and/or as a functional food ingredient to meet the techno-functional purposes important for developing health-promoting value-added products.
Insoluble dietary fiber has direct effects on fecal bulk and gut transit times, while soluble dietary fiber has indirect effects on blood glucose and cholesterol absorption. These specific properties play an important role in the prevention and treatment of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, colorectal cancer and diabetes.
Mango peels and its fibrous pulp contains around 51% of total dietary fiber content. Due to the high fiber content, mango peel has been used in a variety of food supplements to enhance their functional properties.
Fiber in mango
