OTHER USES

Seed kernels: After soaking and drying to 10% moisture content, the kernels are fed to poultry and cattle. Without the removal of tannins, the feeding value is low. Cuban scientists declare that the mineral levels are so low mineral supplementation is needed if the kernel is used for poultry feed, for which purpose it is recommended mainly because it has little crude fiber.

Seed fat: Having high stearic acid content, the fat is desirable for soap-making. The seed residue after fat extraction is usable for cattle feed and soil enrichment.
A mango stone decorticator has been designed and successfully operated by the Agricultural Engineering Department of Pantnagar University, India.

Wood: The wood is kiln-dried or seasoned in saltwater. It is gray or greenish-brown, coarse-textured, medium-strong, hard, durable in water but not in the ground; easy to work and finishes well. In India, after preservative treatment, it is used for rafters and joists, window frames, agricultural implements, boats, plywood, shoe heels and boxes, including crates for shipping tins of cashew kernels. It makes excellent charcoal.

Bark: The bark possesses 16% to 20% tannin and has been employed for tanning hides. It yields a yellow dye, or, with turmeric and lime, a bright rose-pink.

Gum: A somewhat resinous, red-brown gum from the trunk is used for mending crockery in tropical Africa. In India, it is sold as a substitute for gum arabic.

Medicinal Uses: Dried mango flowers, containing 15% tannin, serve as astringents in cases of diarrhea, chronic dysentery, catarrh of the bladder and chronic urethritis resulting from gonorrhea. The bark contains mangiferine and is astringent and employed against rheumatism and diphtheria in India. The resinous gum from the trunk is applied on cracks in the skin of the feet and on scabies, and is believed helpful in cases of syphilis.

Mango kernel decoction and powder (not tannin-free) are used as vermifuges and as astringents in diarrhea, hemorrhages and bleeding hemorrhoids. The fat is administered in cases of stomatitis. Extracts of unripe fruits and of bark, stems and leaves have shown antibiotic activity. In some of the islands of the Caribbean, the leaf decoction is taken as a remedy for diarrhea, fever, chest complaints, diabetes, hypertension and other ills. A combined decoction of mango and other leaves is taken after childbirth.