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Title: Mango variation in vitamin C and beta carotene with cultivar and country of origin

Author
item Perkins Veazie, Penelope
item COLLINS, JULIE - EOSU, WILBURTON, OK
item Manthey, John

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2008
Publication Date: 7/1/2008
Citation: Perkins Veazie, P.M., Collins, J.K., Manthey, J.A. 2008. Mango variation in vitamin C and beta carotene with cultivar and country of origin [abstract]. HortScience. 43(4):1211.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Mangos (Mangifera indica) are a traditional fruit in the Caribbean countries and Southeast Asia, but have been imported in to the U.S. on a large scale only in the last few years. Fruit of cultivars ‘Ataulfo,' ‘Kent,’ ‘Tommy Atkins,’ ‘Keitt,’ and ‘Haden’ were obtained from shipments from Mexico, Peru, Brazil, and Ecuador over a one year period (2006-2007), using the same producer company. Fruit were brought to full ripeness at 20-23 C and 90% RH. Flesh firmness, soluble solids content, and pH were determined on 20 to 40 fruit per set. To best compare fruit subsets among sources and cultivars, the criteria of 10-13% SSC, pH of 3.8 to 4.3, and firmness of <1 kg (using 8 mm diameter tip) were used to select a subset of 10-12 fruit. These were run individually to determine carotenoids by high performance liquid chromatography and vitamin C content by spectrophotometry. Overall, fruit cultivar had a greater effect on carotenoids and vitamin C than country of origin. ‘Ataulfo’ mangos were extraordinarily high in vitamin C compared to the other cultivars (125 vs 19-31 mg/100g). Beta carotene was also high in Ataulfo, and somewhat higher in ‘Kent’ than in the other cultivars (25 vs 17, 5-10 mg/kg). While ‘Ataulfo’ is unusual in its high vitamin C content, there are probably other cultivars and selections in the large worldwide germplasm population similar to this cultivar, such as ‘Ubá’ from Brazil. The same mango cultivar harvested from different countries showed a 10-20% variation in vitamin C and beta carotene content, probably from slight differences in ripeness. These results indicate that the mango varieties most commonly imported into the U.S. are an excellent source of vitamin C (provides 50 to 340% of recommended daily value) and vitamin A (from betacarotene; provides 20 to 150% DV), and should be routinely considered for daily consumption. Fruit of new selections should be screened for vitamin C and betacarotene content to establish genetic tendencies for high content of these antioxidants.