Fresh fruits
Mangoes are palatable to ruminants, and cattle readily eat them when they fall to the ground (Göhl, 1982).
Mango seeds and kernels
Mango seeds can be used fresh, dried or ensiled and ruminants can tolerate concentrates with up to 50% mango seed kernels without adverse effects (Göhl, 1982). In an experiment with sheep, DM digestibility of dried seed kernels was found to be 70% but intake was rather low (1.2% LW). The mango seed kernels showed low palatability probably due to the tannin content. When offered ad libitum to sheep, mango seed kernel intake varied. When mango seed kernels were fed alone, their intake represented up to 43% of the total intake, but when fed in combination with mango peels, their intake was as low as 7% of total intake. In both cases the diets could not sustain animal requirement for crude protein (Sanon et al., 2013). However, a limited amount of kernels (less than 10%) mixed with mango peels, rice straw and supplemented with urea would be able to sustain 50 g daily weight gain in sheep (20 kg LW) (Sanon et al., 2013; Sanon et al., 2010).
Mango peels
Mango peels can be fed fresh, dried or ensiled. Due to their high sugar content, they are palatable to ruminants and can be considered as an energy feed, but the high moisture and acidity of fresh peels may limit their use. Because of their low protein content, the addition of a source of nitrogen or protein is necessary to allow an efficient utilisation of the energy in the diet. In order to produce good silage, mango peels have to be mixed with dry materials (straw for example) and a nitrogen source (a legume for example) to increase moisture and protein content to facilitate fermentation (Sruamsiri et al., 2009).
In an experiment with sheep, DM digestibility of dried mango peels was found to be 74% and the mango peels intake reached 2% LW (Sanon et al., 2010). Lower DM digestibility values (less than 60%) have been registered for a mango peels/rice straw silage consumed by cattle, but nutrient digestibility increased with the inclusion of Leucaena leaves in the diet (Sruamsiri et al., 2009).
Mango wastes
The fresh by-product of mango juice extraction (mixture of peels, stones and cull fruits) was found to have a higher energy value than maize silage and could partly replace energy concentrates in diets for ruminants (Azevêdo et al., 2011). In sheep, supplementing elephant grass silage with increasing amounts (up to 16% of the DMI) of dried mango juice extraction by-product improved the chemical composition of the diet but not its nutritive value, as it reduced intake and the digestibility of some nutrients (Rêgo et al., 2010). A mixture of peels and seed kernels gave a higher intake than peels and kernels separately (Sanon et al., 2010).