A Review of the Benefits of Mangifera indica L. (Mango) from Iranian Traditional Medicine Perspective and Modern Medicine Achievements

The benefits of plants in different fields have been addressed in the works of traditional medicine scholars. Mango is one of those plants, which have been used for thousands of years in medicine due to its preventive and therapeutic properties. This study aims to investigate the benefits of Mangifera indica L. (Mango) products from Iranian traditional medicine perspective and to compare it with modern medicine findings.

This review-research study collected the data on mango benefits by investigating the traditional medicine reference books such as Makhzan Aladviyeh by Aghili Khorasani, Tohfe- al- Momenin by Hakim Momen, Gharabadin Kabir, Exsir-e-A’zam etc. Then, the data were compared to the findings of modern medicine extracted from databases such as Pubmed, Google Scholar and home academic databases.

Findings:

Those parts of mango which can be used include fruit, leaf, flower, kernel, skin and roots. All kinds of unripe mango have a cold, dry and astringent nature. All kinds of ripe mango have hot and dry nature, function as laxatives and enhance the function of heart, brain and gastrointestinal system. Mango is effective in improving shortness of breath, enhancing sexual power, nourishing hair and strengthening gums and teeth. According to the findings of modern medicine, mango has cytotoxic, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial effects due to its main components such as Polyphenols.

According to the experiences of traditional medicine scholars and findings of modern researchers as well as investigating the various benefits of Mango while considering its adverse effects, it seems that caution should be exercised when using this non-native and black bile-producing fruit in some conditions.