Mango leaf is one of the more interesting botanicals to reach Western tea and functional-beverage shelves in the past few years. It is inexpensive, abundant, has centuries of traditional use as an infusion in India and South-East Asia, and contains mangiferin — a xanthone polyphenol that has attracted a steady stream of research interest. It is also, in most of the trade, an afterthought: pruning waste, sun-dried on the ground, never tested.
This guide is for buyers who want to do it properly. It covers what to specify, how the leaf should be grown and dried, the residue and regulatory questions in the US, UK, Ireland and EU, and the price drivers. It reflects how ODOD Group supplies its own mango leaf and mango leaf powder.
What you are actually buying
Mango leaf (Mangifera indica) is sold as whole dried leaf, tea-bag cut (1–4 mm), coarse cut for loose tea and extraction, and powder (typically 80 mesh) for beverages, capsules and cosmetics. The cup is mild, green and faintly fruity, closer to a light green tea than to the fruit. The commercial interest is mangiferin, which concentrates in young leaves and declines with leaf age and with hot drying.
Cultivated versus collected
Most mango leaf on the market is collected: prunings from fruit orchards, sometimes ground leaf, dried in the sun wherever there is space. It is brown, variable and untested. Cultivated leaf is harvested as a crop from orchards on a pruning calendar, picked at a defined leaf age, washed and dried under control. The mangiferin difference is roughly two- to three-fold; the residue difference can be the difference between a compliant lot and a rejected one. Ask where the leaf comes from and how the harvest is scheduled.
Drying and colour
Shade drying below 45 °C in ventilated houses keeps the leaf olive-green and the polyphenols intact. Sun drying is faster and cheaper and produces brown leaf with a hay note. For tea, colour in the bag and in the cup is the first thing a consumer judges; for extraction, mangiferin per kilo decides the economics. In both cases shade-dried leaf wins, and it is worth the premium.
The specification
- Botanical identity (Mangifera indica L., leaf) and origin; macroscopic/microscopic ID on request.
- Mangiferin by HPLC — ≥ 3 % for tea grade, ≥ 4 % for extraction grade.
- Moisture ≤ 8 %; ash ≤ 9 %; acid-insoluble ash ≤ 1.5 %.
- Cut size or mesh; stem content for cut leaf.
- Heavy metals — lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury.
- Pesticide multi-residue screen against the MRLs for herbal infusions and dried leaves.
- Microbiology — TPC, yeasts and moulds, E. coli, Salmonella.
- Pyrrolizidine alkaloids on request (an EU focus for herbal teas since 2023).
Regulatory status: read this before you launch
United States. Mango leaf is sold as a botanical for tea and as a dietary ingredient. Whether a particular product needs a New Dietary Ingredient notification or a GRAS determination depends on the form (leaf versus concentrated extract) and the history of use; several mango-leaf extracts have been the subject of NDI notifications. Tea and infusion uses are the simplest path.
European Union and Ireland. Novel-food status turns on whether the ingredient, in the form and use intended, was consumed to a significant degree in the EU before May 1997. Mango leaf infusions have a plausible history of use; concentrated extracts are a different question. Check the EU Novel Food Catalogue and, if needed, request a consultation with a Member State authority before launch. Residues are governed by Regulation 396/2005 (herbal infusions) and contaminants by 2023/915, which now includes pyrrolizidine alkaloid limits for herbal infusions.
United Kingdom. The FSA follows a similar novel-food logic with its own procedures; assimilated MRL and contaminant law applies.
ODOD Group supplies the botanical identity, specification, analytical reports and history-of-use references to support your regulatory review. We do not make health claims for the leaf and recommend that customers do not either without authorisation.
Formats, packaging and freight
Tea-bag cut and powder ship in 10 kg nitrogen-flushed lined cartons; coarse leaf for extraction in 20 kg compressed bales. Shelf life 18 months unopened, in the dark and below 25 °C. Leaf is light — a 40-ft high-cube carries only 8–10 tonnes of cut leaf — so small first orders go LCL or air.
What drives the price
- Cultivated, scheduled harvest versus collected leaf.
- Shade drying (slower, more space, more labour).
- Mangiferin minimum — extraction grade costs more per kilo but less per kilo of mangiferin.
- Testing — residues, heavy metals and, for the EU, pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
- Cut size (fine cutting loses yield) and packaging.
Before your first order
- Confirm the regulatory path for your intended use in your market.
- Specify mangiferin minimum, moisture, cut size and colour with a reference sample.
- Require per-lot residue and heavy-metal reports.
- Cup the sample against your blend.
- Plan freight for a light, bulky product.
ODOD Group supplies cultivated, shade-dried mango leaf in tea, powder and extraction grades from HACCP / ISO 22000-certified processors, with per-lot analytical reports for the US, UK, Ireland and the EU. Request a sample and we reply within one working day.
Frequently asked questions
Is mango leaf approved as a food ingredient in my market?
Mango leaf has a long history of use as a tea and traditional preparation in South and South-East Asia. In the US it is sold as a botanical tea and dietary ingredient; in the EU and UK its status for a given use should be checked against the Novel Food Catalogue and the FSA's guidance, because status can differ between an infusion and a concentrated extract. We supply the botanical identity, history-of-use and analytical documentation your regulatory reviewer needs.
What is mangiferin and how much is in the leaf?
Mangiferin is a xanthone polyphenol found at high levels in mango leaf and bark. Tea-grade leaf assays at 3 % or more by HPLC and extraction-grade coarse leaf at 4 % or more; the figure is printed on each COA. Standardised extracts are available on request.
Why shade-dried?
Sunlight and heat degrade chlorophyll and polyphenols and give the leaf a brown colour and a hay-like taste. Shade drying below 45 °C keeps the leaf olive-green and the mangiferin intact; it is slower and costs more, and it is the difference customers taste in the cup.
Are pesticide residues a concern?
Mango orchards are sprayed, so leaves can carry residues. Every lot is screened by an accredited laboratory against the EU and UK MRLs applicable to herbal infusions, and orchards supplying us follow a pre-harvest interval on leaf picks. Organic-certified orchards are available.
What cut sizes are available?
Tea-bag cut (1–4 mm) for infusion, coarse cut (5–10 mm) for extraction and loose-leaf tea, and 80-mesh powder for beverages and capsules; whole dried leaves for culinary use.
How is it shipped?
Nitrogen-flushed lined cartons of 10 kg for cut leaf and powder, or compressed 20 kg bales for extractors. Leaf is light, so 40-ft high-cube containers are usual; small orders go by air or LCL.