CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Origin: Mango (Mangifera indica) (Opioro)is a native to Southern Asia especially Burma and Eastern India. It is a member of cashew family (Anacardiacee) on of the most important and widely cultivataed fruits of the tropic world.
Mango is considered as a king in Indian delicacy. The roots and bark of mango Mangifera indica (Anacardiceae) are astringent , acrid, anti-inflamatory and constipating.
The leaves and flowers are refrigerant, styptic vulnerable and constipating dried or dehydrated products of urine mango flesh in the form of peeled sliced or powder) is used as an acidulant or a souring agent for curies.
The tree is evergreen, often reaching 50 to 60 and attaining great age.
Leaves are lanceolate, up to 12 inches long, the flowers small, pinkish and franggrant, are borne in large ferminal panicles. The fruits varies in seized and character, the smallest mangoes are no longer than plums while others may weigh 4 to 5 pds. Its form is oval, oval round, heart shape, kidney shape or long and slender. Some varieties are beautifully coloured with shades of red and yellow, while other are dull green.
The single large seed is flattened, the flesh that surrounds. It is yellow to orange in colour, juicy sweet and of delicious spicy flavor, mangoes are a rich source of vitamin A, C and D, the uripe fruit is acidic, astringent and antislobutic, the ripe fruit is antislorbutic, diuretic laxative, anvigorating, flattening and astringent sum slices ot unripe.
Fruit is very useful in scurvy. The fried skin of the unripe fruit is given with sugar in menorhagia the fruit juice increases sexual vigour and sexual strength. It cures impotency. The ripe fruit is often used as a sexual tonic.
ADAPTATION
Mango basically require a frost free climate. Flowers and small fruit can be killed if temperature drops below 400C even for a short period. Young tree may be seriously damaged.
GROWTH HABIT
Mango tree make handsome landscape specimen and shade trees. They are fast growing with sufficient heat.
SOIL
Mango will grow in almost any well drained soil whether sandy, loamy or clay heavy wet soil. A PH between 5 -7 and 7 – 5 is preferred. Mango needs a deep soil to accommodate their extensive root systems.
IRRIGATION
Irrigation should start when the weather warms.
CULTURE
The mango grows to a good size and casts a dense shade, but the roots are not destructive. It acquires full sun and perfect air drainage in winter.
It does best at the top or middle level of a slope if wind breaks should be provided in exposed area. The trees may also need staking in the desert.
It needs the shade of other trees. Or plant on the North side of the house in the garden plant against a south wall or in an area surrounded by paying to provide maximum heat in the green house full light and free air movement are important to avoid disease.
FRUITS
The fruits grow at the end of long string like stem (the upper particle) with sometimes two or more fruits to a stem. The fruits are 2 to 9 inches long and may be kidney shape.
The flower scar at the apex is predominantly in some cultivars plugging from the fruit.
The leathery skin is waxy and smooth and when sap (ie) that is irritating to some people.
The quantity of the fruit is passed on the scanty of fibre and animal turpentine taste.
The flesh of mango is peach like and juice with more or less numerous fibres radiating from the hunk of the single large kidney shaped seed. Fibres are more pronounced in fruits growth with chemical fertilizers.
The flavor is pleasant and rich high in acid and sugars. The seeds either have embryo producing one seeding or piovembronic producing several seeding that are identical but not always true to the same fruit.
Some seedlings produce numerous tiny pathennocarpic fruit which fall to develop and abort mango trees tend to be alternate bearing.
The mango fruit is a large, fleshy drupe containing edible medocarp of varying thickness. It is resinous and highly variable with respect to shape and size chlorophyll, carotenes, anthocyanins and xanthophylls are all present in the fruit, although chlorophyll disappears during ripening, where as authocyanins and carotenoids increase with maturity.
Fruit colour at maturity is genotype – dependent. Fruit of Bombay green is greenish – yellow, dasheshari goa and Arumanis are yellow and Haden, Keih and Tommy Atkins have a striling red blush.
OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH
The aims and objectives of this research are:
- To screen the flower and stalk of Mangifera indica for the presence of phytochemicals of interest.
- To evaluate the anti-microbial eddiciency of the flower and stalt of Mangifera indica.
1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW
A lot of researches have been done by various individuals on Mangifera indica , some of them are pointed out below:
- Adeyemi: investigated the pharmacological actions of cold aqueous extract of dried Mangifera indica seed. On cardiac tissues and his result proved that the extract can be used to replenish salt vitamins and energy after physical exercise.
- Experiment was carried out on the anti fungal activities of the Mangifera indica seed on cassia alata and it was that the extract of the Mangifera indica are thought too help stop bleeding.
- Akidale and Adeyemi investigated ethyl acetate extract of Mangifera indica using to strengthen the heart.
The sedative anxiolytic muscle relaxant effect of ethyl acetate seed ectract of Mangifera indica was investigated by [4]
- The result showed that Mangifera indica support its neurosedative use in traditional African medicine.
- Lot and Onkukaeme experiment on the pharmacological evaluation of Mangifera indica extract succeded in revealing that Mangifera indica contained saponin, flavonoid, Tanin, alkaloid, phenol, etc.
1.2 GENERAL USES AND IMPORTANCE OF MANGIFERA INDICA
Mangifera indica has been of very great local importance to the Africans. The invention of science and technology exposed man to its other useful importance.
Most of the uses of Mangifera indica are dicused below.
- Mango are full packed with vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidant and contain like all the fruits very few proteins, fats and calories.
- They are perfect to replenish salts, vitamins and energy after physical exercise.
- It is mineral packed chemical free food that has amazing benefits for the health.
- Dietary fibre has a protective effect against degenerative disease, especially with regards to heart, may help prevent certain types of cancer as well as lowering blood cholesterol level.
- The mango milk cure is an ideal treatment to loss of energy and are also thought to help stop bleeding.
- Mango are used to strengthen the heart to benefit the brain
- Taking mango regularly makes the complex fair and the skin soft and shining.
- Feeding the power of dried kernel of mango seed with fresh water cures the habit of eating soil in kinds.
- Mango is used in Indian spices as a souring agent to provide the desired acidity in the various food recipes.[6]
1.3 MORPHLOGY OF MANGIFERA INDICA; THE TREE AND ITS FLOWERS
The mango tree is believed to have evolved as a canopy layer specie in the tropical rain forest of south and southeast Asia.
Mature specimens can attain a height of 30m and can survive far more than 100 yrs.
The root system consist of a long, vigorous taproot and abundant surface feeder roots.
The tree is an absorbent evergreen tree with simple alternate, oblong ovate to oblong land ceolate leaves that are spirally arranged and produced in flushers.
Its flowers are borne on terminal pyramidal panicles, glabrous or pubescent the inflorescent is rigid and erect and is widely branched, usually densely flowered with hundreds of small flowers 5-10mm.
The flowers are small monoecious and polygamous. Both male and perfect flowers are found within a single in florescent the pestil in male flowers.
The ratio of male perfect is strongly influenced by environmental and cultural factors.
The flowers have four to five petals that are oblong to avoid land ceolate and also thirty pubescent.
The floral disc is four to five lobed, fleshy and large, and located above the bases of the petals.
There are five large fleshy nectarines that form a five lobbed receptacle.
Although there are four to five stamensiously one or two of them are fertile the remainder is sterile stamindes that are surrounded by a small gland.
In addition, to three small filaments arise from the lobes of nectarines. It is believed that the flower are cross pollinated by fillies.
