Banana: Introduction, Geographical distribution, Morphology, Phytochemical constituents, Pharmacological activities and Traditional Uses

Banana: Introduction, Geographical distribution, Morphology, Phytochemical constituents, Pharmacological activities and Traditional Uses

Banana: Introduction, Geographical distribution, Morphology, Phytochemical constituents, Pharmacological activities and Traditional Uses

Taxonomical classification

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Liliopsida

Order: Zingiberales

Family: Musaceae

Genus: Musa L.

Species: Musa paradisica Linn

 Introduction

Bananas are from a flowering herbaceous plant, while plantains, or Musa paradisiaca Linn., are frequently used in cooking. Though it is believed to have originated in southern Asia, including India, it is now grown throughout Africa’s subtropical and tropical regions, not just in Nigeria. It’s no secret that bananas are among the cheapest, most accessible, and healthiest foods in the whole humid, temperate region of the world. This is because bananas are collected at a rate of about 10 million per hectare. The family Musaceae contains three distinct genera: Musa, Ensete, and Musella. Additionally, M. paradisiaca belongs to this family. With approximately 35 different species, including but not limited to Musa acumiata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa sapietum, Musa is the most varied of the three categories. M. paradisiaca can reach a maximum height of 9 meters. Depending on the species and the soil’s nutrients, it can yield fruits that are up to 7 centimetres long, yellow or green, and seedless. With an average of more than 200 calories per day, M. paradisiaca is the main source of food energy for more than 600 million people in Africa.

Geographical distribution

It is a perennial plant that grows across the tropics and subtropics and can reach heights of 10 to 40 feet, giving it the appearance of a tree. Its native habitats are found throughout India and Burma’s tropical regions. The Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Gujarat are home to the largest concentrations of individuals of this species. It is one of the most common species in the world, with its natural range encompassing the tropics of the Americas, Australia, and Africa. The plant can only be grown in a few locations worldwide, including Florida, the Canary Islands, southern Egypt, southern Japan, and southern Brazil.

Morphology

1. The banana plant, Musa paradisiaca, is a big herb with a succulent, very juicy stem that is a cylinder of leaf-petiole sheaths. It is often mistakenly called a “tree” and can grow up to 20 to 25 feet (6 to 7.5 meters) tall, emerging from a thick rhizome or corm.
2. The leaves are smooth, soft, elliptic or oblong, and they are numbered 4 or 5 to 15. They are spirally arranged, and they unfold once a week as the plant grows.

3. The inflorescence, a terminal spike that emerges from the heart at the tip of the stem, is an altered growth point. Initially, it appears as a big, tapering, long-oval bud covered in purple. The slender, nectar-rich, serrated, white blooms are arranged in whorled double rows along the flowering stalk as it opens, with a thick, waxy bract that resembles a hood and is deep red inside.
4. Flowers in the lower 5 to 15 rows are female. There might be rows of hermaphrodite or neuter flowers above them. In the higher rows, male flowers are produced.

 5. The fully developed fruits in each cluster rapidly turn into a “hand” of bananas, and the stem sags under the weight until the bunch is upside down. The bracts are soon lost.
6. The fruit changes colour from deep green to yellow, red, or, in certain varieties, coloured green and white. The cultivated varieties of this fruit usually have a fleshy, lengthy shape and are seedless altogether. Fresh fruits have a bluish-green coating on the outside that is glossy and mucilaginous, while the inside is white, powdery, and has few, if any, seeds.

Parts used

Fruit, leaves, stem

Phytochemical constituents

The vegetative sections of the plant contain components such as gallic acid and tannin. Sugar makes up about 22 per cent of the mature fruit, followed by 4.8 per cent starch, 1 per cent fat, and 6 to 13 1per cent non-nitrogenous extractives. It contains a modest amount of vitamin B and a slightly high amount of vitamin C. Researchers initially discovered the flavonoid that is now recognized as a leucocyanidin in unripe bananas. Magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, copper, phosphorus, aluminium, sodium, manganese, and nitrogen are among the minerals that make up the fruit. The fruit also contains manganese. High concentrations of molecules of various sizes, including small and large ones, are found in the fruit. The ripe fruit contains a much higher amount of phosphorus and manganese than the immature fruit, which is rich in calcium and selenium. Mature fruit contains the highest concentrations of three amino acids: leucine, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid. A substance known as sitoindoside IV, an acylsteryl glycoside, is present in the fruit. Lime silica, potassium alkaline phosphate chloride, carbonates of potash and soda, and other minerals are found in the ash of the mature fruit husk. There is a considerable quantity of tannin in green plantains. Several compounds, including potash, soda, lime, magnesium, alumina, chlorides, sulfuric anhydride, phosphoric anhydride, silica, and carbon anhydride, are found in the juice that is taken from the stems of plantain flowers.

Pharmacological activities

Pharmacological properties of Musa paradisiaca include antilithiatic, antioxidant, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiulcer, antidiarrheal, hypocholesterolaemic, hepatoprotective, antisnakevenom, wound healing, hair growth promotion, antifungal, and antimenorrhagic properties.

Traditional Uses

All parts of the Banana plant have medicinal uses.

1. The flowers are used to cure menorrhoea, ulcers, bronchitis, and dysentery. One way to treat diabetes is to utilize cooked flowers.
2. The astringent plant sap is used for haemorrhoids, insect stings, and other bites, and is treated for fevers, haemorrhages, leprosy, hysteria, epilepsy, and diarrhoea.
3. Burns and other skin conditions are treated with young leaves as poultices. The leaves and the unripe peel’s astringent ashes are used to treat malignant ulcers as well as diarrhoea and dysentery.
4. The roots are used to treat gastrointestinal issues, diarrhoea, and other illnesses. Additionally, it has anthelmintic properties.

5. In India, mucilage from banana seeds is used to treat diarrhoea and catarrh.
6. The peel and pulp of fully ripe bananas have antifungal and antibacterial qualities. The plant is also used to treat snakebite, discomfort, and inflammation.