NutriDex

The Supplement Research Compendium
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Gandaria

Bouea macrophylla

Tangy tropical plum-mango rich in gallotannins.

Preliminary evidence 🍎Fruits

✚ Updated · How we grade evidence

Evidence tier
Preliminary
Research weight
Citations
9 verified / 9
Classification
Fruits
❝
What the evidence says. Early or small human trials; promising but not yet conclusive.

Nutrition per serving 1 small handful (100 g)

100gSERVING
  • Water 87.5 g88%
  • Sugars 7.5 g8%
  • Fibre 1.4 g1%
  • Other carbs 0.1 g0%
  • Protein 0.6 g1%
  • Fat 1.2 g1%
  • Other 1.7 g2%
What's in one serving, by weight — average composition (USDA).
Vitamin C22%Beta-carotene3%Fiber5%Potassium2%Phosphorus1%Calcium0%
One serving as % of the adult daily requirement (FDA Daily Values). The bold outer ring = 100% of a day's needs.
49 kcal0.6 g protein1.4 g fiber1.2 g fat
NutrientPer serving% daily value
Vitamin C20 mg22%
Beta-carotene331 µg3%
Fiber1.4 g5%
Potassium84 mg2%
Phosphorus10 mg1%
Calcium5 mg0%
Iron0.2 mg1%

Composition data: USDA FoodData Central ↗

What is Gandaria?

Gandaria (Bouea macrophylla) is a fruit used for antioxidant (polyphenol-rich, in vitro). NutriDex grades the human evidence as Preliminary. Gandaria (marian plum, maprang, kundang) is a small Southeast Asian mango-relative eaten ripe as a sweet-tart fruit. Compositionally it is a watery, low-calorie fruit (~49 kcal/100 g by Atwater calculation from its macros) providing modest vitamin C (~20 mg/100 g in the Malaysian reference database, though other sources report higher), beta-carotene, potassium and a notable load of hydrolysable tannins and gallic/ellagic acids that give it strong in-vitro antioxidant activity. Laboratory and isolated-compound studies show the seed and leaf extracts inhibit α-glucosidase (a mechanism relevant to blood-sugar control), kill several bacteria and fungi, and are cytotoxic to cultured cancer cells, while oral extract in UVB-exposed hairless mice reduced wrinkling and preserved collagen. Crucially, essentially all health evidence is in vitro or in animals: there are no human clinical trials of gandaria fruit or its extracts for any outcome. Reported antioxidant and enzyme-inhibition potencies come from concentrated extracts, not the amounts you would get from eating the fruit. A 28-day rodent study of a fruit-extract yoghurt found no toxicity up to 2000 mg/kg, supporting general food safety. Overall the human evidence is preliminary, and benefits beyond ordinary fruit nutrition should be considered unproven.

Purported Benefits

✓Antioxidant (polyphenol-rich, in vitro)
✓Vitamin C source
✓Beta-carotene (provitamin A)
✓α-glucosidase inhibition (antidiabetic, preclinical)
✓Antimicrobial (preclinical)
✓Anti-photoaging (animal models)

Dosing & Compounds

Typical Dose
Culinary fruit; ~100 g (a small handful of 3–5 fruits) as a typical serving. No established therapeutic dose.
Active Compounds
Hydrolysable tannins / gallotannins (pentagalloyl glucose)Phenolic acids (gallic acid, ellagic acid, methyl gallate)Flavonoids (quercetin, quercitrin, myricitrin, kaempferol, afzelin)Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)Carotenoids (beta-carotene)Triterpenoids (betulinic acid)Anthocyanins (ripe peel)Dietary fiber

Safety & Cautions

Generally safe as a food; rodent toxicity studies of fruit-extract yoghurt showed no adverse effects (acute LD50 >2000 mg/kg; 28-day dosing up to 1000 mg/kg/day). As a mango-family (Anacardiaceae) fruit, the peel/sap can cause contact dermatitis or allergic reactions in people sensitive to mango/urushiol. Unripe fruit is very sour and astringent. Concentrated seed/leaf extracts are not characterized for human use, and their α-glucosidase inhibition could theoretically add to glucose-lowering medication effects—no human interaction data exist. Educational only — always check with your doctor or pharmacist before combining Gandaria with any medicine.

Key Studies

Animal toxicology (OECD) Rusli 2023 ✓ Full text
B. macrophylla fruit-extract yoghurt: UHPLC-MS profiling identified ~110 compounds (phenolics/flavonoids, gallic acid, tannins); acute LD50 >2000 mg/kg and 28-day repeated dosing (≤1000 mg/kg/day) caused no organ toxicity in rats.
Narrative review Maatjie 2022 (review) ✓ Full text
Narrative review of B. macrophylla pharmacology reported antioxidant, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer and anti-photoaging activity but concluded data remain limited to in vitro/animal models, calling for toxicological studies and human clinical trials.
Book chapter / review Rajan & Bhat 2020 (Springer ref. work) ✓ Source
Reference-work chapter 'Bioactive Compounds of Plum Mango (Bouea microphylla Griffith)' cataloguing nutritional value and bioactives—polyphenols, gallotannins, flavonoids, carotenoids and vitamin C—and their reported antioxidant and functional-food potential.
Observational Rahmawati 2020 (Pharmaceuticals/PMC) ✓ Full text
Ethanol extract of Bouea macrophylla showed antibacterial activity against 9 of 10 tested pathogens and inhibited proliferation of HeLa and HCT116 human cancer cell lines in vitro, attributed to gallic and ellagic acid content.
Observational Sukweenadhi 2022 (acne, in vitro) ✓ PubMed
Bouea macrophylla seed extract exhibited antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity against acne-inducing bacteria in an in vitro model, supporting topical anti-inflammatory potential.
In vitro / in silico α-Glucosidase flavonoids 2023 ✓ Full text
Eight flavonoid-type compounds isolated from B. macrophylla leaves inhibited α-glucosidase (IC50 9.2–266 µM); 8-bromoquercetin (5a) was the most potent at 9.2 µM, ~37× more potent than acarbose in vitro/in silico.
In vitro / in silico Ha 2022 ✓ PubMed
Three compounds isolated from B. macrophylla (betulinic acid, methyl gallate, 3-O-galloyl gallic acid methyl ester) inhibited α-glucosidase with IC50 1.4–143.3 µM, with molecular docking against acarbose as reference.
In vitro Dechsupa 2019 ✓ Full text
Maprang (B. macrophylla) seeds: high gallotannin/phenolic content; ethanolic seed extract showed DPPH IC50 20.9–46.3 µg/mL, cytotoxicity to K562 leukemia cells (IC50 ~3–45 µg/mL, more toxic to doxorubicin-resistant cells), and antimicrobial activity (MIC 39–625 µg/mL); 18 phytochemicals identified including gallic and ellagic acid.
Animal (in vivo) Lee 2018 ✓ PubMed
Oral B. macrophylla extract (300 mg/kg/day, 8 wks) in UVB-irradiated hairless mice reduced wrinkle formation and skin thickening, restored collagen (COL1A1/3A1/4A1/7A1) via TGF-β/Smad, and suppressed MMP-2/-3/-9/-13.
9 sources cited · 9 verified Search all studies on PubMed ↗

Common questions about Gandaria

What is Gandaria used for?

Gandaria is most often taken for Antioxidant (polyphenol-rich, in vitro), Vitamin C source, Beta-carotene (provitamin A), α-glucosidase inhibition (antidiabetic, preclinical). Tangy tropical plum-mango rich in gallotannins.

Does Gandaria work — what does the evidence say?

Preliminary evidence. Early or small human trials; promising but not yet conclusive. Gandaria (marian plum, maprang, kundang) is a small Southeast Asian mango-relative eaten ripe as a sweet-tart fruit. Compositionally it is a watery, low-calorie fruit (~49 kcal/100 g by Atwater calculation from its macros) providing modest vitamin C (~20 mg/100 g in the Malaysian reference database, though other sources report higher), beta-carotene, potassium and a notable load of hydrolysable tannins and gallic/ellagic acids that give it strong in-vitro antioxidant activity. Laboratory and isolated-compound studies show the seed and leaf extracts inhibit α-glucosidase (a mechanism relevant to blood-sugar control), kill several bacteria and fungi, and are cytotoxic to cultured cancer cells, while oral extract in UVB-exposed hairless mice reduced wrinkling and preserved collagen. Crucially, essentially all health evidence is in vitro or in animals: there are no human clinical trials of gandaria fruit or its extracts for any outcome. Reported antioxidant and enzyme-inhibition potencies come from concentrated extracts, not the amounts you would get from eating the fruit. A 28-day rodent study of a fruit-extract yoghurt found no toxicity up to 2000 mg/kg, supporting general food safety. Overall the human evidence is preliminary, and benefits beyond ordinary fruit nutrition should be considered unproven.

What is the typical dose of Gandaria?

Culinary fruit; ~100 g (a small handful of 3–5 fruits) as a typical serving. No established therapeutic dose.

Is Gandaria safe? Any cautions or side effects?

Generally safe as a food; rodent toxicity studies of fruit-extract yoghurt showed no adverse effects (acute LD50 >2000 mg/kg; 28-day dosing up to 1000 mg/kg/day). As a mango-family (Anacardiaceae) fruit, the peel/sap can cause contact dermatitis or allergic reactions in people sensitive to mango/urushiol. Unripe fruit is very sour and astringent. Concentrated seed/leaf extracts are not characterized for human use, and their α-glucosidase inhibition could theoretically add to glucose-lowering medication effects—no human interaction data exist.

How many studies support Gandaria?

NutriDex cites 9 sources for Gandaria, graded "Preliminary".

Cite this page
APA

Peh, D. (2026). Gandaria (Bouea macrophylla): Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects & Evidence. NutriDex — The Supplement Research Compendium. Retrieved 26 Jun 2026, from https://nutridex.info/s/gandaria

BibTeX
@misc{nutridex_gandaria,
  author       = {Peh, Daryl},
  title        = {Gandaria (Bouea macrophylla): Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects \& Evidence},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {NutriDex --- The Supplement Research Compendium},
  url          = {https://nutridex.info/s/gandaria},
  note         = {Reviewed by Dr Daryl Peh, MBBS Singapore, MMed FM. Accessed 2026-06-26}
}

For medical claims, citing the underlying primary studies linked above is preferred. NutriDex is an educational reference, not medical advice.

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