This fruit is known for it’s nutritional aspects such as a good source of antioxidants, power house of vitamins like vitamin C, A,E and K. An excellent source of fibre and minerals like phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. It is a rich source of pectin which is a form of dietary fibre known to reduce cholesterol levels. Which fruit are we talking about? You guessed right. MANGO it is. To add to the list, food scientists from Texas AgriLife Research have identified that mangoes also possess wonderful anticancer properties. They discovered that it was able to prevent the proliferation of colon and breast cancer cells in lab. The anticancer properties are attributed to its polyphenol content in particular gallotannins . Tannins are polyphenols that are often bitter or drying and found in such common foods as grape seed, wine and tea. The polyphenolics from mango were tested on a variety of cancers like colon,breast,lung,leukemia and prostate cancer. It was most effective against colon and breast cancer cell lines.It was found that they caused apoptosis or programmed cell death of these cancerous cells by interrupting with the normal cycle.The important fact was that they did not damage normal cells and specifically targeted cancer cells. These polyphenols could also protect cells which are on the verge of mutation or damage.
Dr. Susanne Talcott, who with her husband, Dr. Steve Talcott, conducted the study on cancer cells, hopes to do further clinical trials with individuals who have increased inflamation in their intestines with a higher risk for cancer to establish the distinctive anticancer property that this fruit possesses and then move on to larger trials in the future.
