Mango Peels Offer Potential Benefit in Overweight and Obesity Disorders

Antioxidants such as caffeic acid, gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, kaempherol, and vitamin C found in mango peels may help in the management of dyslipidemia and oxidative stress in people with overweight and obesity disorders, according to a study published in Biomedical Research International.

The investigators used a convenience sampling technique in which 120 women aged 25 to 45 years with a body mass index (BMI) between 25.0 and 29.9 (overweight) volunteered for the study. However, 77 were excluded on the basis of diabetes and hypertension and 12 for heart ailments, leaving 31 women eligible for the study.

Twenty-one participants took 1 g of mango peel powder (MPP) twice a day one-half hour before a meal with one glass of water, while the control group (10) drank one glass of water before a meal without the MPP supplement. Both groups had dietary guidelines which restricted high-fat and high-carbohydrate diets.

Investigators collected blood samples and calculated BMI to ascertain the functional efficacy of the mango peel supplement at the end of the study.  Outcome measures included lipid profile, antioxidant status of serum using thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and change in BMI from baseline.

According to the researchers, BMIs in both groups decreased nonsignificantly (P =.12) over the 84-day period, but with more of a reduction (29 to 28.4 kg/m²) in the mango peel group. The investigators observed a significant change (P ≤.05) in the lipid profiles between the treatment and control group. The treatment group demonstrated a reduction of triglyceride levels (-4.63%), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (-9.04%), and total cholesterol levels (-13.12%) as well as elevated high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (9.97%) compared with the control group.

There was also a significant difference between groups for the TBARS values, with an increased antioxidant status in the mango treatment group. The treatment group demonstrated increased indirect bilirubin concentrations (P =.03) which potentially corresponded to increased antioxidant status and reduced inflammatory conditions also found in the group.

In liver and renal function tests, serum bilirubin, alkaline phosphate (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), blood urea, and creatinine, respectively, showed significant differences (P ≤0.5) in the treatment group.

“As the ALP level is an indicator of obesity, reduction of the ALP level by mango peel powder showed [the] safety of mango peel doses to reduce fatty deposits,” stated the authors.

Researchers noted several limitations of the study, including its length, noting that antioxidants  “affect the blood cell count over a longer period of time; therefore, during a short time, as in the case of the present study, the results are not much pronounced.”

“Based upon the present research results, it can be concluded that bioactive compounds from agricultural waste (mango peels) present a comprehensive remedy to fight against the reactive oxygen species produced in the body. Thus, these are helpful in preventing [the] damages caused [by] using economical resources [mango peels] that [would] otherwise go to waste.”

Reference

Arshad F, Umbreen H, Aslam I, et al. Therapeutic role of mango peels in management of dyslipidemia and oxidative stress in obese females. Biomed Res Int. Published online October 23, 2021.  doi:10.1155/2021/3094571