Nutrition of mango fruit

Mango is touted as the king of fruits in South Asian countries.  Mango trees are evergreens growing up to 60 feet tall and fruiting 4 to 6 years after planting.

Mango fruit contain amino acids, carbohydrate, fatty acids, minerals, organic acids, proteins, and vitamins.

Raw mangoes are about 82% water and contain 66 calories of energy per 100 g.

Unripe fruits contain starch which changes to sugars during ripening. During ripening process, the fruit are initially acidic, astringent and rich in ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

Ripe mangoes contain moderate levels of vitamin C, but are fairly rich in provitamin A and vitamins B1 and B2.

The pulp of mango fruit contains as much as vitamin A as butter, although vitamin D is not present in a significant quantity. A 100 g edible potion of raw mango provides 765 mg or 25% of recommended daily levels of vitamin A, which is important for vision and bone growth.

Mangoes are good sources of dietary fiber too. Diets low in fat and high in fiber have been associated with a reduced risk of some types of cancer. Mango is an excellent source of flavonoids, beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin.
Nutrition of mango fruit

Mango fruit

The mango fruit is a large, fleshy drupe, containing an edible monocarp of varying thickness.  The average weight of mature mango fruit may range between 60 to 800 g.

The mesocarp is resinous and highly variable with respect to shape, size, color, presence of fiber and flavor.

Fruit length can range from 5 to 25 cm depending on the cultivar. The endocarp is woody, thick and fibrous. Fruit range in shape from spherical to ovoid to elongate, with many variations in between. The surface of the fruit varies to undulating

A ripe mango is soft to touch, with a pleasant aroma, and has a flavor often described as a peach-pineapple combination.

Ripe mango fruit may be greenish yellow or yellow in color, or it may have a yellow background color with various shades of orange, red or purple which occur as a ‘blush’ on a variable portion of the surface.

Time from flowering to fruit maturity takes 3-6 months depending upon cultivar and temperatures.

Mango is a climacteric fruit, which is best harvest in a mature but unripe stage, about 2.5 to 4.5 months from blooming and usually transported in the firm, green preclimacteric stage.
Mango fruit

Mangoes and Its Species

Mangoes and Its Species
Mangoes belong to the genus of Mangifera. There are 1000 named mango species. Among them

• Mangifera acutigemma
• Mangifera altissima
• Mangifera andamanica
• Mangifera applanata
• Mangifera austro-indica
• Mangifera austro-yunnanensis
• Mangifera blommesteinii
• Mangifera bullata
• Mangifera caesia
• Mangifera camptosperma
• Mangifera campnospermoides

• Mangifera casturi
• Mangifera collina
• Mangifera decandra'
• Mangifera dewildei
• Mangifera dongnaiensis
• Mangifera flava
• Mangifera foetida
• Mangifera gedebe
• Mangifera gracilipes
• Mangifera griffithii
• Mangifera hiemalis

• Mangifera indica
• Mangifera kemanga
• Mangifera lalijiwa
• Mangifera laurina
• Mangifera longipes
• Mangifera macrocarpa
• Mangifera magnifica
• Mangifera mekongensis
• Mangifera minutifolia
• Mangifera monandra
• Mangifera nicobarica

• Mangifera odorata
• Mangifera orophila
• Mangifera pajang
• Mangifera paludosa
• Mangifera parvifolia
• Mangifera pedicellata
• Mangifera pentandra
• Mangifera persiciformis
• Mangifera quadrifida
• Mangifera rubropetala
• Mangifera rufocostata

• Mangifera siamensis
• Mangifera similis
• Mangifera sumbawaensis
• Mangifera superba
• Mangifera swintonioides
• Mangifera sylvatica
• Mangifera taipa
• Mangifera torquenda
• Mangifera transversalis
• Mangifera zeylanica

Most of the fruit trees that are commonly known as mangos belong to the species Mangifera indica. The other edible Mangifera species generally have lower quality fruits and are commonly referred to as wild mangos.

The plant can reach 35 – 40 m in height, with a crown radius of 10 m. The leaves are ever green and dark green when matured.

The ripe fruit is variable in size and color, such as yellow, orange, and red or purple. Often red on the side facing the sun and yellow were shaded, a mango that us green usually indicates unripe fruit, but this depends on the cultivar.

Mango flowers are visited by fruit bats, flies, wasps, wild bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, ants and various bugs seeking the nectar and some transfer the pollen but a certain amount of self-pollination also occurs. Honeybees do not especially favor mango flowers and it has been found that effective pollination by honeybees would require 3 to 6 colonies per acre (6-12 per ha). Many of the unpollinated flowers are shed or fail to set fruit, or the fruit is set but is shed when very young. Heavy rains wash off pollen and thus prevent fruit setting. Some cultivars tend to produce a high percentage of small fruits without a fully developed seed because of unfavorable weather during the fruit-setting period.
Mangoes and Its Species