Mango is a tree that grows up to 40 m in height. It originates from the regions of Bangladesh, Myanmar, India and Indonesia. It is one of the most exploited tropical trees, both in its native regions and in Africa, Australia and South America, where the tree is grown commercially. Botanical characteristics: bark greyish brown or black; leaves smooth, initially red, but become dark green during growth, lanceolate; inflorescence paniculate, flowers small, greenish white or pink, in groups of 500 to 6,000, petals 5, stamens 5, sepals 5, pubescent; fruits botanically termed drupes, oblong, 8 to 12 cm long, exocarp smooth, greenish yellow or greenish red, mesocarp fleshy, juicy, yellow, endocarp hard, with 1 large seed.

Mango seeds contain 9 to 13% butter. Its triglyceride composition is characterised by the balanced proportion of predominant stearic and oleic acids. Another important feature is its content of phytosterols, which may be as high as 7%. The melting point is approximately 35°C. Mango butter is stable against oxidation. It is of yellow or light-brown colour and has a typical sweetish-oily odour.

Given its fatty acid composition, mango butter is most similar to shea butter and is considered its best substitute. However, the consistency of mango butter is slightly more solid and it contains less unsaponifiable matter.
Mango seeds contain up to 50% water and must therefore be quickly dried after harvesting to reduce the water content to approximately 10%. The harvesting period for mango fruit in the countries of southwest Asia, which are the leading producers of mango butter, coincides with the monsoon season. Such demanding climatic conditions make the processing of mango fruit very difficult. Wet seeds are suitable for the extensive development of microorganisms, especially Aspergillus niger. Fungus lipases degrade triglyceride molecules into free fatty acids. In unrefined mango butter produced from fresh seeds, the content of free fatty acids was shown to increase from 2 to 7% in 20 days, and to 46% in 120 days.

Mechanism of action and use
Mango butter is used as an emollient ingredient in a variety of cosmetic products, e.g. skin and hair cleansing cosmetics, skin and hair care cosmetics, lip care cosmetics and decorative cosmetics. It is also very popular in products for massage. Due to its high content of phytosterols, it may contribute to antioxidative activity and restore the impaired function of the lipid barrier. In vivo laboratory studies with an emulsion containing 25% mango butter have shown accelerated wound healing. Similar effects have been observed with the same emulsion used in volunteers. Scientific literature describes some very rare cases of contact dermatitis caused by the dermal use of mango butter.

Source: Modern Cosmetics - Dr. Damjan Janeš and Dr. Nina Kočevar Glavač