Lucknow, Aug 6 (IANS): For all those who have been avoiding eating mangoes due to health issues, including diabetes, here is some good news.

The Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, (CISH) Lucknow has developed healthier varieties of mangoes with bio-active compounds that have high medicinal benefits, including anti-cancerous properties.

Shailendra Rajan, director CISH, said, "Indeed, it is a major breakthrough for us. Mango is the most favoured fruit and of the many hybrid varieties of mango, the researchers found CISH-developed 'Arunika' was rich in the bio-active compounds including mangiferin and lupeol content."

He further said, "The red-blushed Arunika has great medicinal properties. The bio-active compounds present in this variety lower blood glucose levels by preventing glucose absorption in the intestine, whereas the Mangiferin helps to protect against breast and colon cancer."

Another variety of medicinal mango, developed by CISH is "Saheb Pasand", which he said, was the sweetest variety of mango that was high in lupeol content. The compound is known for a wide range of pharmacological activities against a variety of disease conditions including inflammation, arthritis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, renal disease, hepatic toxicity, microbial infections and cancer.

He said the institute was ready with the variety, however, the test of the pulp was still on in order to compare these hybrid mangoes with other available varieties of mango in terms of medicinal content.

Rajan said that in the near future, cultivation of these special varieties of mango would yield better income to the farmers and also health benefits to the consumers.