Abstract Globally, the rising prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its associated secondary complications has heightened the need for sustainable, food-based bioactive constituents that can regulate blood glucose levels. In this context, mango ( Mangifera indica ), a widely consumed tropical fruit belonging to the Anacardiaceae family, generates a large amount of peel waste during industrial processing, which remains highly underutilised despite its strong nutritional and phytochemical profile. Mango peels are a significant source of therapeutic constituents, including flavonoids (hesperidin, rutin, quercetin, mangiferin, kaempferol), phenolic acids (gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid), essential oils, dietary fibre, amino acids and fatty acids. These bioactive constituents can be efficiently extracted using environmentally-friendly extraction methods such as supercritical fluid extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE). Emerging scientific evidence highlights the strong hypoglycaemic potential of mango peels and their phytochemicals, acting via several interlinked mechanisms. These include scavenging of free radicals, suppressing inflammatory responses, regulating post-meal glucose spikes and safeguarding pancreatic β-cells from damage. Beyond hypoglycaemic activity, mango peel-derived functional compounds play a vital part in mitigating secondary diabetic complications, including retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, cardiomyopathy and gut dysbiosis, by scavenging free radicals, suppressing inflammatory cytokines, improving renal function and maintaining intestinal microbiome homeostasis. Additionally, the safety aspects and allergic effects associated with mango peels are also discussed. Despite these health-promoting advantages, existing evidence is mainly focused on in vitro and in vivo trials, with limited preclinical and clinical studies. This review highlights the nutritional and phytochemical constituents of peels, demonstrating their anti-diabetic potential and discussing their potential to be incorporated into functional foods and nutraceuticals. Overall, utilising mango peels provides a sustainable, cost-efficient and eco-friendly strategy to manufacture value-added products for diabetic patients.
Marwaha et al. (Thu,) studied this question.