Mangifera species are widely cultivated in Asia and elsewhere. More than 27 species in the genus bear edible, fleshy fruits, especially the common mango (M. indica). Others, such as M. foetida, yield astringent fruits that can be eaten pickled.[5]
Mango wastes, such as the seed kernel and peel, have high functional and nutritional potential. Mango seed contains important bioactive compounds that have high antioxidant activity, lipids that have acceptable physical and chemical characteristics (free of trans fatty acids), and a somewhat high (about 6%) protein content.[6] The mango peel contains considerable amounts of antioxidants and dietary fiber.[7]
Fossil record
The earliest fossil species thought to be related to Mangifera is Eomangiferophyllum damalgiriense from the upper Paleocene in northeastern India. Leaves have also been reported from the Paleocene of Japan and the Eocene of Germany, though these have been considered questionable. Leaf fossils confidently assignable to Mangifera have been collected from Oligocene or early Miocene sediments in northern Thailand.[8][9]
^Serna, Liliana; García-Gonzales, Estefanía; Torres-León, Cristian (2016). "Agro-industrial potential of the mango peel based on its nutritional and functional properties". Food Reviews International. 32 (4): 364–376. doi:10.1080/87559129.2015.1094815. S2CID87396909.
^Prakart Sawangchote; Paul J. Grote; David L. Dilcher (2009). "Tertiary leaf fossils of Mangifera (Anacardiaceae) from Li Basin, Thailand as examples of the utility of leaf marginal venation characters". American Journal of Botany. 96 (11): 2048–2061. doi:10.3732/ajb.0900086. PMID21622324.
