Our Summary
India is home to over 1,000 mango varieties, but commercial agriculture has focused on only a handful of well-known types, leaving many genetically distinct varieties in the Himalayan plains almost entirely unstudied. This 2024 study published in Heliyon set out to fill that gap by evaluating 15 previously unexplored Himalayan mango genotypes across a comprehensive range of quality measures, including nutritional content, antioxidant activity, physical attributes, shelf life, flavor, and the enzyme activity that drives fruit softening and ripening. The results revealed meaningful differences across the 15 varieties and identified several standouts: varieties including Malda, Amrapali, Langra, Krishna Bhog, Alphonso, and Prabha Shankar demonstrated shelf lives 3 to 4 days longer than other genotypes, a commercially significant advantage. Amrapali registered the highest sugar content (21.76 Brix) and the highest total carotenoid concentration (7.38 mg/100 g, relevant to vitamin A activity), while Malda and Mallika led in antioxidant activity, and Fazli produced the heaviest individual fruits at over 400 grams. The study concludes that several of these overlooked Himalayan varieties show strong commercial potential for both fresh market sales and nutraceutical or food processing applications, and that targeted cultivation of these genotypes could add significant value to the regional agricultural economy while diversifying the mango varieties available to consumers and industry.
PMID: 39027430
PMCID: PMC11254599
Abstract
India is renowned for its mango diversity, with more than 1000 genotypes reported. However, the Himalayan plains bear some elite genotypes which supposed to bear high postharvest value, the systemic postharvest study of which is yet to be attempted. The aim of present study is to evaluate the postharvest quality and ripening behviour of these important genotypes. Thus, 15 un-explored mango genotypes of this region were selected and evaluated for ripening behaviour and detailed postharvest profiling via internal (total phenolic and total flavonoid content), nutritional attributes (Brix: acid ratio, total carotenoid concentration, ascorbic acid content and antioxidant activity), sensory evaluation, fruit softening enzymes (polygalactouronase, pectin methylesterase and lipoxygenase), shelf life attributes (respiration rate, physiological loss in weight and storage life in days) external attributes (fruit weight, fruit firmness, peel thickness, fruit shape and dry seed weight) and mineral contents (Calcium, potassium and phosphorous) under ambient storage (25 ± 4 °C and 65 ± 5 % RH). The results revealed that the highest total flavonoid content (682.40 μg g−1), ascorbic acid (46.88 mg 100 g−1) and antioxidant activity (4.84 μmol TE g−1) exhibited by ‘Sukul’. The total phenolic content was recorded as the highest in ‘Safed Malda’ (510.42 μg GAE g-1 FW), and total carotenoid concentration was recorded as the highest in ‘Sipiya’ (7.30 mg 100 g-1) ‘Zardalu’ (7.04 mg 100 g-1) and ‘Mithua’ (6.98 mg 100 g-1). Interestingly, genotypes such as ‘Sukul’, Sipiya’ and ‘Krishna Bhog ‘exhibited a 4–5 days higher storage life than other selected genotypes. Screened genotypes exhibited a high diversity of nutritional and biochemical contents. The results of this study bear practical utility for research (quality improvement programme) and the processing industry.
Keywords: Unexplored mango genotypes, Himalayan plain, Postharvest quality, Diversity, Ripening behaviour, Nutritional, Fruit sensory score
