Good news for diabetics: Pakistani expert 'introduces sugar-free mangoes'

A Pakistani mango expert claims he has introduced three new varieties of sugar-free mangoes having four to six percent sugar level in the local market for people suffering from diabetes.

The mango expert says he conducted scientific modifications of mangoes at a private agriculture farm in Tando Allahyar, Sindh, and produced three varieties of sugar-free mangoes.

The M H Panhwar Farms say they conducted research and scientifically modified mangoes for five years. The new mango varieties have been named Sonaro, Glenn and Keitt and are available in the local market.

Availability of sugar-free mangoes is a relief for diabetic people because most calories in mangoes come from sugar.

M H Panhwar’s nephew and mango expert Ghulam Sarwar says the former was an expert in organic farming and authored a wide range of research articles and manuals on fruits.

He said the government of Pakistan had conferred Sitara-e-Imtiaz on Mr. Panhwar for his research related to fruits, including mangoes and bananas. “After his death, I continued his work and carried out modifications after importing different genres of mangoes to test their growth in this atmosphere and soil,” he said.

Sarwar explained, “This project is being run on a personal basis and we are not taking any assistance from the government departments. I just want to introduce these varieties on the national and international levels. We think about national interests but not [using this project] for gaining profits for us.

“The Keitt variety has the lowest sugar level up to 4.7 percent, while Sonaro and Glenn have sugar levels up to 5.6 percent and six percent respectively.”