Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
Open Access

Abstract

Banana fruit and plantain (Musa species) are among the worldâ��s leading fruit crops. According to FAO database, 103 million tonnes of banana were produced in the year 2004. The plantain and unripe banana are consumed cooked and mature dissert banana is eaten raw. The pseudo stem and rhizome of banana has recently been identified as potential nutraceutical, antioxidant rich food beverage. Banana flower and pseudo stem are fibre rich potent antioxidant materials with low glycemic index value. Therefore, they may serve as a beneficial health food supplement for diabetic individuals. Banana flower is used for preparation of curries etc. The flower constitutes several parts such as bract, bell, tepals and stigma. Although, the whole flower has been studied for its health benefits, the individual parts are not analysed for their phytochemical constituents and their biological activities. Despite the observations that banana flower may become a health food supplement for diabetic individuals, the mechanism of its antidiabetic activity is not properly investigated. This research analyzed phytochemical constituents, in vitro antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic and antioxidant potentials in 50% aqueous methanol extract of various parts of banana flower. Our analysis showed that stigma of flowers is richest source of polyphenol, flavanoid and anthocyanins. The bract, fused tepals, stigma and bell posses potent free radicals scavenging activities and have varying degrees of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) formation inhibitory potentials. Furthermore, the bract and bell were observed to posses intestinal �±-glucosidase inhibitory activities and fused tepals contain pancreatic lipase inhibitory potentials. Our research finds that the whole edible parts of banana flower are rich source of antioxidant activities and have the potentials of inhibiting the formation of various types of AGEs. The bract and bell are rich source of antihyperglycemic potentials and fused tepals as pancreatic-lipase inhibitors.

Biography

Email: ajayanand.jh@gmail.com tiwari@iict.res.in tiwari4763@gmail.com