Below
are some interesting facts of mangoes which have
been gathered
over the years.
The mango is known as the
'king of fruit' throughout the world.
The Mango is a member of the
cashew family of flowering plants; other species include
the pistachio tree and poison ivy.
The name 'mango' is derived
from the Tamil word 'mangkay' or 'man-gay'. When the
Portuguese traders settled in Western India they adopted
the name as 'manga'.
Mangos originated in East
India, Burma and the Andaman Islands bordering the Bay
of Bengal. Persian traders took the mango into the
middle east and Africa, from there the Portuguese
brought it to Brazil and the West Indies. Mango
cultivars arrived in Florida in the 1830's and in
California in the 1880's.
The Mango tree is a symbol
of love.
Mango leaves are used at
weddings to ensure the couple bear plenty of children
(though it is only the birth of the male child that is
celebrated - again by hanging mango leaves outside the
house).
Many Southeast Asian kings
and nobles had their own mango groves; with private
cultivars being sources of great pride and social
standing, hence began the custom of sending gifts of the
choicest mangoes.
Burning of mango wood,
leaves and debris is not advised - toxic fumes can cause
serious irritation to eyes and lungs.
Mango leaves are considered
toxic and can kill cattle or other grazing livestock.
Mangos are bursting with
protective nutrients. The vitamin content depends upon
the variety and maturity of the fruit, when the mango is
green the amount of vitamin C is higher, as it ripens
the amount of beta carotene (vitamin A) increases.
There are over 20 million
metric tons of mangos grown throughout the tropical and
sub-tropical world. The leading mango producer is India,
with very little export as most are consumed within the
country. Mexico and China compete for second place,
followed by Pakistan and Indonesia. Thailand, Nigeria,
Brazil, Philippines and Haiti follow in order.
The fruit of the mango is
called a Drupe - consisting of the mesocarp
(edible fleshy part) and endocarp (large woody,
flattened pit).
The mango is a member of
the Anachardiaceae family. Other distant relatives
include the cashew, pistachio, Jamaica plum, poison ivy
and poison oak.
The over 1,000 known mango
cultivars are derived from two strains of mango seed -
monoembryonic (single embryo) and polyembryonic
(multiple embryo). Monoembryonic hails from the Indian
(original) strain of mango, polyembryonic from the
Indochinese.
Dermatitis can result from
contact with the resinous latex sap that drips from the
stem end when mangos are harvested. The mango fruit skin
is not considered edible.
Every part of the mango is
beneficial and has been utilized in folk remedies in
some form or another. Whether the bark, leaves, skin or
pit; all have been concocted into various types of
treatments or preventatives down through the centuries.
A partial list of the many medicinal properties and
purported uses attributed to the mango tree are as
follows: anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-septic, anti-tussive
(cough), anti-asthmatic, expectorant, cardiotonic,
contraceptive, aphrodisiac, hypotensive, laxative,
stomachic (beneficial to digestion)....
Mangiferin - rich in
splenocytes, found in the stem bark of the mango tree
has purported potent immunomodulatory characteristics -
believed to inhibit tumor growth in early and late
stages.
