Lebensm.-Wiss. u.-Technol.

, 29, 729–733 (1996)

Mango Peels as a New Tropical Fibre: Preparation and

Characterization
J.A. Larrauri, P. Rupérez, B. Borroto and F. Saura-Calixto

J.A. Larrauri, B. Borroto: Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Alimenticia, Carretera Guatao, Km 3.5,
Lisa 19200, Ciudad Habana (Cuba)
P. Rupérez, F. Saura-Calixto: Departamento de Metabolismo y Nutrición, Instituto del Frı́o, C.S.I.C., Ciudad
Universitaria s/n, 28040-Madrid (Spain)
(Received July 21, 1995; accepted January 19, 1996)

In this study, preparation and characterization of mango peel dietary fibre were investigated. Fresh mango peels, obtained as a
byproduct of syrup production, were successively wet-milled, washed with water and dried. A peel particle size of 15 mm in wet
milling and a washing time of 5 min were found to remove soluble sugars and to increase total polyphenols and soluble dietary
fibre content. Mango peel dietary fibre contained high amounts of total extractable polyphenols (70 g/kg) and soluble dietary fibre
(281 g/kg) and had a high water-holding capacity (11.4 g/g dry matter). These characteristics indicated that mango peel is a good
source of tropical fruit fibre.

©1996 Academic Press Limited

Introduction Materials and Methods

There is increasing interest in the food industry in fruit Raw material

fibres rich in soluble dietary fibre, and in fibres Mango fruits (Mangifera indica, L.) var. Hayden were
containing associated compounds (carotenes, tocopher- collected from an experimental field in Cuba. Soluble
ols, flavonoids, etc.) with health promoting abilities. solids in the pulp, measured with an Atago digital
Therefore, it is important to develop suitable techno- refractometer DBX-30 at 20 °C, were 15.0 ± 0.5 °Brix.
logical processes to obtain fibre-rich products contain- Peels used in this research were obtained as a byprod-
ing bioactive compounds. Mango is one of the most uct from the pilot plant production of slices in syrup at
important noncitrus fruits grown in Cuba (25,000 the Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria
t/year), and the amount processed by the industry Alimenticia (La Habana, Cuba).
represents up to 30% of total noncitrus fruits. Mango Mango peel dietary fibre (MPDF) was obtained accord-
fruit has recently been introduced in the Mediterranean ing to the following procedure: peels were blanched for
Coast of Andalucia and in the Canary Islands (Spain), 3 min, wet milled, passed through a pulping machine
with a total cultivated area of 1000 ha in 1994 (1), and washed at 95 °C. Two wet milled particle sizes (8
although an increase is expected in the near future. and 15 mm) and two washing times (5 and 15 min) were
Slices in syrup and purees are the main industrial studied for their effect on MPDF preparation. After
products obtained from mango fruit. Its industrial washing, samples were pressed, dried, milled to a
particle size of less than 0.5 mm and packed. Each
byproducts, peels and stones, represent 35 to 60% of
treatment was carried out in triplicate, at random, as
the total fruit weight, depending on cultivars and the
shown in Table 1.
product made (2, 3).
The peel and stone proportions in mango fruit range
from 20 to 30% and 10 to 30%, respectively (2–4). Table 1 Particle size and washing time used in the different
Animal feeding is the usual application of these wastes, treatments of mango peel
although they can also be used to obtain more valuable Treatments Particle size Washing time
products. Juice, wine, vinegar and good quality pectins (No.) (mm) (min)
have been produced from peels (5, 6). The aim of this 1 15 5
study was to describe the influence of some techno- 2 8 5
logical parameters on the preparation of mango peel 3 15 10
4 8 10
dietary fibre, and to evaluate its physico-chemicals
properties.
0023-6438/96/080729 + 05$25.00/0 ©1996 Academic Press Limited

729
lwt/vol. 29 (1996) No. 8
Chemical analysis
Residual moisture was determined by drying to con-
stant weight at 105 °C.
Soluble sugars. In order to avoid loss of hemicelluloses
and pectins which are soluble in 800 mL/L ethanol (7),
sugars were extracted with ethanol (960 mL/L) in a
shaking water-bath at 50 °C for 30 min. The supernatant
was analysed using the anthrone-thiourea reagent (8).
Total extractable polyphenols (TEP). The powdered
sample (500 mg) was extracted sequentially with 40 mL
methanol:water (50:50, v/v) and 40 mL acetone:water
(70:30, v/v) at room temperature for 60 min. Super-
natants from these extractions were combined and
made up to 100 mL with distilled water. TEP were
spectrophotometrically assayed by the Folin-Ciocalteau
method using tannic acid as a standard (9). Lemon and
apple fibres (Indulérida, S.A.) were also analysed, in
order to compare our results with commercial fruit
fibres.
Condensed tannins (CT). The residue obtained from
TEP extraction was treated with 40 mL of 50 mL/L HCl
in N-butanol in a water-bath at 100 °C for 3 h. The
supernatant was made up to 50 mL with the same
solvent and the absorbance was measured at 555 nm
(10). Carob pod condensed tannins (Nestlé, Ltd.) were
selected as a standard according to a previous spectral
report (11).
Dietary fibre (DF). The AOAC enzymatic–gravimetric
method (12) was followed, omitting ethanolic precipita-
tion to avoid loss of soluble dietary fibre (SDF), as
reported by Mañas and Saura-Calixto (7). SDF was
obtained after dialysis and hydrolysed with 1 mol/L
sulphuric acid (100 °C, 1.5 h). Neutral sugars (NS) and
uronic acids (UA) were quantified in the hydrolysates
using the 3,5-Dinitrosalicylic (DNS) acid reagent (13),
and were expressed as SDF.
Insoluble dietary fibre (IDF) residues obtained after
enzymatic treatment and centrifugation were hydro-
lysed with 12 mol/L sulphuric acid (room temperature,
1 h) and 1 mol/L sulphuric acid (100 °C, 1.5 h). The
residual material was dried (105 °C, overnight) and
quantified as Klason lignin (KL). NS and UA in the
hydrolysates were determined following the same
procedure as in SDF analysis. IDF was calculated as NS
and UA plus KL.
Neutral sugars. Neutral sugars in SDF and IDF hydroly-
sates were also analysed by gas liquid chromatography
(GLC) as alditol acetates (14, 15). A Hewlett Packard
gas chromatograph model HP-5890 equipped with a
flame ionization detector (FID), an automatic injector
(HP-7673A) and an integrator (HP-3390A) was used.
The column was a SP-2330 capillary fused silica, 30
m 3 0.32 mm i.d., with 0.2 µm film thickness. The oven,
injector and detector temperatures were 230 °C (iso-
thermal), 270 °C and 270 °C, respectively. The split ratio
730
was 1:120 and the carrier gas (nitrogen) pressure was 9
psi.
Uronic acids were estimated by difference between
SDF (DNS method) and total neutral sugars (GLC
method) because of a failure in the usual spectrophoto-
metric methods, probably related to the high TEP
content of MPDF.
Minerals. A dry sample was incinerated in a furnace at
525 °C for 8 h. The residue was dissolved in HNO3 with
50 g/L of LaCl3 to determine Ca, Mg, K, Na, Fe, Cu, Mn
and Zn in a Perkin Elmer model 5100 PC atomic
spectrophotometer.
Protein. Total nitrogen was determined in MPDF as
well as in the KL residue (resistant protein) by the
Kjeldahl method and protein was calculated as
N 3 6.25.
Oil. Oil was extracted from 1 g of dry sample with 40
mL of ethyl ether in a Soxtec system (Tecator).
Water- and oil-holding capacity (WHC, OHC)
Twenty-five millilitres of distilled water or commercial
olive oil were added to 250 mg of dry sample, stirred
and left at room temperature for 1 h. After centrifuga-
tion, the residue was weighed and WHC and OHC
calculated as g water or oil per g of dry sample,
respectively (16).
Statistical analysis
All determinations were performed in triplicate. A
multifactorial analysis of variance was carried out to
determine the influence of particle size and washing
time (effects) on the yield and quality characteristics of
the MPDF obtained. In cases where any effect and its
interaction (treatment) were significant (P ≤ 0.05), only
the last was chosen. Means were separated by Duncan’s
multiple range test.
Results and discussion
No significant differences for soluble sugars, CT, IDF,
WHC and OHC with treatments were found (Table 2),
whereas TEP and SDF were significantly affected
Table 2 Mean values (x) and 95% confidence (CI) intervals
of mango peel dietary fibre chemical and physico-chemical
analysis
Component x̄c CI
Soluble sugarsa 26.7 2.0
Condensed Tanninsa 4.4 0.2
Insoluble dietary fibrea 434.0 16.0
Water-holding capacityb 11.4 0.5
Oil-holding capacityb 2.7 0.1
a g/kg dry weight.
b g water or oil/g dry matter.
c Triplicate determinations.

Table 3 Extractable polyphenols and soluble dietary fibre in mango peel
dietary fibre with different treatments
Extractable
polyphenols
(g/kg)
Treatmentsa x̄b
1 70.0a
2 54.0b
3 54.0b
4 44.0c
a See Table 1 for treatments.
b Different letters in each row indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).
Mean (x̄) and standard deviation (sx) of three determinations.
(Table 3). Particle size was the only variable sig-
nificantly affecting the yield of MPDF (Table 4).
The confidence intervals obtained for the character-
istics which did not exhibit significant differences with
the treatment used are shown in Table 2. Content of
total soluble sugars was low and independent of the
time of washing and particle size used, which shows the
efficiency of the washing procedure, yielding a final
product with a low caloric value. Accordingly, no
significant differences in citrus husks of different
particle size have been reported when washed with hot
water ( ≥ 80 °C) (17).
Blanching is an essential procedure to inactivate
enzymes and protect food products from enzyme
catalysed reactions. A 22% removal of soluble sugar
was obtained in blanched raw mango fruit pieces (5). In
this work, we have performed an additional hot water
washing, with removal of 87% of the soluble sugars
initially present in fresh mango peel. Condensed
tannins, or nonextractable polyphenols, and IDF were
not washed out by hot water. Therefore, their values did
not change significantly with the treatments. The IDF
content (434 g/kg) was in the same order as that found
in commercial apple and lemon dietary fibre prepara-
tions: 430 to 500 g/kg and 300 to 450 g/kg,
respectively.
MPDF held 11 g water per g dry matter. This value was
higher than in some commercial fibres (18–20). This
may be due to its high soluble fibre and/or pectic
substance content (21), although WHC values are
highly method-dependent. OHC was around four times
lower than WHC. This value agreed with the reported
OHC values of citrus husk: 4 to 5 g oil/g dry matter (22).
It has been shown that other fruit fibres with similar
Table 4 Changes in the yield of mango peel dietary fibre
(MPDF) with peel particle size
Yield (%)a b
Particle size
(mm) x̄ sx
8 4.4a 0.1
15 4.9b 0.1
Mean (x̄) and standard deviation (sx) of three determinations.
a Different letters mean significant differences (P < 0.05).
b Yield was calculated as follows:
MPDF obtained
×100
Mango peel
731
lwt/vol. 29 (1996) No. 8
Soluble dietary fibre
(g/kg)
sx x̄ sx
1 281.0a 13
1 254.0b 14
1 217.0c 13
1 237.0c 13
WHC and OHC values are useful as emulsifiers for
meat products and thickening or bodying agents (23).
TEP and SDF were significantly influenced by the
treatment followed for MPDF preparation (Table 1).
Treatment 1 resulted in the highest TEP and SDF
values, treatment 4 in the lowest (Table 3). Large
particle size with the lower washing time (treatment 1)
was a limiting factor which removed only soluble sugars
and small amounts of TEP and SDF. Smaller particle
sizes with longer washing times made it easier to
remove interesting fibre-associated compounds. Values
of TEP and SDF shown in Table 3 are higher than for
other fibres, such as apple (3 and 130 g/kg, respectively)
and lemon (7 and 250 g/kg, respectively). Particle size
affected the yield of MPDF. The bigger the particle size
in milling of fresh mango peel, the higher the final
recovery (Table 4), with small insoluble solid losses in
the washing steps, mainly pressing. A similar behaviour
was reported in citrus husks (24). These values are low
compared to citrus fibre yield (6 to 8%), due to a higher
amount of pulp in mango peel.
Considering these results, treatment 1 can be selected
as the most appropriate to obtain MPDF. This proce-
dure yielded the highest recovery of a fibre, low in
soluble sugars and with the highest TEP and SDF
content as compared to the other studied treatments.
No data on MPDF were found in the literature. Its
composition is shown in Tables 5 and 6. The high fibre
content, especially SDF (281 g/kg), should be noticed.
Mango peel is one of the fruit materials presenting the
highest proportion of SDF; similar contents only occur
in citrus fruits. Arabinose, galactose and glucose were
the majority of neutral sugars in both soluble and
insoluble MPDF (Table 6). This sugar composition is
characteristic of high soluble fibre fruits and is in
agreement with previous results reported for mango
fruit (25) and citrus peel (26).
Uronic acid content in soluble and insoluble dietary
fibre, estimated by difference, were 65 and 68 g/kg,
respectively. This result agrees with the total uronic acid
value (130 g/kg) reported in the same raw material
(6).
Polyphenols and resistant protein are compounds
associated with dietary fibre. As mentioned above,
citrus and mango have comparable dietary fibre values,
though the high amount of TEP (70 g/kg) is a
peculiarity of mango peel.
lwt/vol. 29 (1996) No. 8

Table 5 Composition of mango peel dietary fibre obtained Table 7 Mineral content of mango peel dietary fibre
with treatment 1
Concentration (mg/kg)a
Dry weight (g/kg)c
Minerals x̄ sx
Componentc x̄ sx
Ca 4445 405
Soluble dietary fibre K 2910 374
Neutral sugar (GLC)a 216 17 Mg 950 47
Neutral sugars+uronic acids (DNS)b 281 13 Na 638 45
Fe 175 11
Insoluble dietary fibre Zn 32.5 5
Neutral sugar (GLC)a 128 4 aMean value (x̄) and standard deviation of three
Neutral sugars+uronic acids (DNS)b 196 19 determinations.
Klason lignin 238 29

Ashes 28.5 2

Protein Acknowledgements
Total 52.5 4
Resistant 38.9 5 J.A.L. wishes to thank the Ministerio Español de
Educación y Ciencia for the concession of a Scholarship
Oil 25 2
for Foreign Technologist, and the sponsor of Proyecto
a GLC = determined by gas liquid chromatography analysis. de Cooperación Iberoamericano: ‘Nuevos tipos de
b DNS = determined by dinitrosalicylic acid method. fibras dietéticas de alta calidad. Obtención en planta
c Mean value (x̄) and standard deviation (s ) of three
x piloto y caracterización’.
determinations.

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