ABSTRACT
The nutritional and nutraceutical/functional properties of mangoes Laurent Urban, University of Avignon, France; Mônica Maria de Almeida Lopes; and Maria Raquel Alcântara de Miranda, Federal University of Ceará, Brazil
1 Introduction
2 Health benefits of mango fruits
3 Increasing phytochemical concentrations in mango fruits
4 Pre-and post-harvest factors influencing bioactive compounds of mango fruits
5 Case study: low fluence pulsed light to enhance mango phytochemical content
6 Future trends and conclusion
7 Where to look for further information
8 References
Mangoes are recognized as a major source of bioactive compounds with potential healthpromoting activities (thereafter named phytochemicals). We review here the potential health benefits of mango fruits that can be derived from what we know about the biological effects of vitamin C, carotenoids and phenolic compounds and from what we learned from more specific studies performed on cell and animal models. An up-to-date list of the pre-and post-harvest factors influencing the concentrations in phytochemicals of the pulp of mango fruits is presented. There are not many observations about pre-harvest treatments. By contrast, the literature is especially abundant on post-harvest treatments, including, besides coating techniques, exposure to ionizing radiations; electrical fields; visible, ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) radiations, either in a ‘traditional’ form or under the form of pulsed light (PL); heat or cold; high pressure and chemicals such as salicylic acid. It is quite obvious from this list that almost all these treatments may be considered as stressing or mimicking stress (salicylic acid is involved in biotic stress signalling). We shall therefore evoke some of the current hypotheses about the stimulating effect of stress on the secondary metabolism.
