Physical properties of mango fruit

Mango trees grow can reach 35 – 40 m in height, with a crown radius of 10 m. The leaves are ever green and dark green when matured.

Mango is greatly relished for its succulence, exotic flavour and delicious taste in most countries of the world. Apart from its delicacy, it is a nutritionally important fruit being a good source of vitamin A, B and C, and minerals.

Mango is seasonal fruit and about 20 percent of the fruits are processed for products such as puree, nectar, leather, canned slice and chutney, juices, ice cream, fruit bars, and pies.

Ripe mangoes are a good source of carotenoids. The rate of total carotenoid accumulation in mangoes is slow during the initial growth stages, but increases as the fruits approach maturity.

The ripe fruit varies in size, shape, color, sweetness, and eating quality. Cultivars are variously yellow, orange, red, or green, and carry a single flat, oblong pit that can be fibrous or hairy on the surface, and which does not separate easily from the pulp. Often red on the side facing the sun and yellow were shaded, a mango that us green usually indicates unripe fruit, but this depends on the cultivar.

The fruits may be somewhat round, oval, or kidney-shaped, ranging from 5 – 25 cm in length and from 140 gms to 2 kgs in weight per individual fruit.

The skin is leather -like, waxy, smooth, and fragrant, with color ranging from green to yellow, yellow-orange, yellow-red, or blushed with various shades of red, purple, pink or yellow when fully ripe.

Mango seed is a single flat oblong seed that can be fibrous or hairy on the surface, depending on the variety. Inside the seed coat, 1-2 mm thick is a thin lining covering a single embryo, 4-7 cm long and 3-4 cm wide.

Mangoes are perishable and large quantities are wasted during processing, packing, storage and transportation each year. Therefore, several techniques have been applied to process mangoes into a variety of products to increase its value and improve shelf life, such as pulping into nectar and juice concentrates, and drying/dehydrating.
Physical properties of mango fruit

Properties of Vitamin E

Vitamin E is the term for a group of eight different compounds: α-, β-, γ-, and δ tocopherols and the corresponding four tocotrienols (α-, β-, γ-, and δ). Each form has its own biological activity, the measure of potency or functional use in the body.

α-tocopherol is the most active form of vitamin E in humans, and is a powerful biological antioxidant. It is the major lipid soluble found in cells.

The antioxidative properties of vitamin E have been found to play a vital role in the battle against various diseases such as atherosclerosis, oxidative stress, cancer, and cataract, among others.

Due to the potent antioxidant properties of tocopherols, the impact of a-tocopherol in the prevention of chronic diseases believed to be associated with oxidative stress.

Antioxidants of vitamin E act to protect body cells against the effects of free radicals, which are potentially damaging by-products of the body's metabolism. Vitamin E serves as one of the body’s chief defenses against damage by free radicals.

γ-tocopherol might have functions apart from being an antioxidant. It is a nucleophile able to trap electrophilic mutagens in lipophilic compartments and generates a metabolite that facilitates natriuresis.

The tocopherols are viscous oils at room temperature, insoluble in water but soluble in ethanol and aprotic solvents. Vitamin E is a slightly yellow to amber, nearly odorless, clear, viscous oil, which darkens on exposure to air or light by oxidation.

Most notably, vitamin E prevents the oxidation of the polyunsaturated fatty acids, but is protects other lipids and related components (e.g. vitamin A) as well.

Research and the clinical experiences of physician show beyond a doubt that vitamin E is good for the heart. The role of vitamin E as a heart protector has been building for decades.

Vitamin E also possesses anti-cancer properties. This is possibly because of the various functions of vitamin E which include: the stimulation of the wild-type p53 tumor suppressor gene; the downregulation of mutant p53 proteins; the activation of heat shock proteins, and an anti-angiogenic effect mediated by the blockage of transforming growth factor alpha.
Properties of Vitamin E

What is the definition of flavor?

Flavor is a biological perception, a sensation produced by a material taken in the mouth, perceived principally by the sense of taste and smell, also the general pain and tactile receptors in the mouth as received and interpreted by the brain.

It is said that there are basically five flavors namely sweet, sour, bitter, salt and savory.

A flavor can in other terms be called the essence of food. Earlier it was considered that there are just four flavors. It was just in the recent years the fifth flavor that of natural amino acid glutamic acid and certain nucleotides was observed.

The Council of Europe defined flavor: A flavoring substance is a chemically-defined compound which has flavoring properties. It is obtained either by isolation from a natural source or by synthesis.

Favoring properties are those which are predominantly odor producing and which may also affect the taste.

Flavor is never eaten in its natural state, it is always incorporated in a matrix or delivery system.

Although food acceptance in humans is determined mainly by appearance and texture, flavor is nevertheless also important. For example, spices are added to food not for their nutritional value, but for their taste and favor.
What is the definition of flavor?