Mango compounds and health effects in lab and animal studies
What it found
Mango and its parts contain polyphenols and other compounds that showed antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity in lab tests and in animals.
The authors say mango should be part of everyone's diet.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Antioxidant compounds in mango
Mango pulp, peel and seed contain polyphenols such as mangiferin, gallic acid and quercetin. These compounds can neutralise harmful oxygen molecules in lab tests.
Anti-inflammatory effects in animals
In mice with colitis, mango stem bark extract reduced symptoms like weight loss and diarrhoea. It also lowered inflammatory substances in the colon and blood.
Blood sugar effects in rats
In diabetic rats, mango pulp, leaf and peel extracts lowered blood glucose and increased insulin. Peel extracts also reduced fructosamine and glycated haemoglobin, two markers of diabetes control.
Anticancer activity in cells
Mango extracts from bark, peel, pulp and kernel killed or stopped the growth of several cancer cell lines, including pancreatic, cervical, colon and breast cancer cells. In some tests, normal breast cells were not affected.
Mangiferin as key compound
Mangiferin is a polyphenol found in mango bark, leaves, pulp and peel. In lab and animal studies it acted as an antioxidant, reduced inflammation and improved diabetes complications in rats.
Other findings
Sicilian mango quality
Sicilian mango cultivars like Kensington Pride, Keitt, Glenn, Maya and Tommy Atkins are grown in Sicily. A sensory panel found their fruit quality was good, with fibre high in Osteen and colour highest in Maya.
What the authors conclude
“This review provides an overview of the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties of mango, a fruit that should be included in everyone's diet for its multifaceted biochemical actions and health-enhancing properties.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say mango should be included in everyone's diet for its many biochemical actions and health-enhancing properties.
- They believe that better understanding mango's healthy properties could promote its consumption and favour Sicilian mango production.
- They call for more research to characterise Sicilian mango compounds and compare them with those from tropical areas.
How it was done
The authors wanted to give a full picture of the main bioactive compounds in mango and their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer actions. They also wanted to gather what is known about mango grown in Sicily.
They reviewed studies on mango fruit fractions, including pulp, peel and seed, and on mango plant parts like leaves and stem bark. The studies looked at antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects in cells and in animals, and some looked at mango compounds in people.
What it can’t tell you
- Most of the studies in this review were done in cells or animals, so they cannot show what happens in people.
- The review does not include large human trials, so it cannot prove that eating mango prevents or treats any disease in people.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Authors work at
- University of Palermo, Italy
The paper
- Title
- Multifaceted Health Benefits of Mangifera indica L. (Mango): The Inestimable Value of Orchards Recently Planted in Sicilian Rural Areas
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Lauricella M, Emanuele S, Calvaruso G, Giuliano M, D'Anneo A (2017). Multifaceted Health Benefits of Mangifera indica L. (Mango): The Inestimable Value of Orchards Recently Planted in Sicilian Rural Areas. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu9050525Free full textPubMed 28531110DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error