Carotenoids in Bananas and Plantains: Nutritional Significance and Health Benefits

Carotenoids are a diverse group of naturally occurring pigments that give fruits and vegetables their vivid yellow, orange, and red hues. Found abundantly in bananas and plantains, carotenoids are not only visually appealing but also critically important for human health due to their antioxidant properties and role as vitamin A precursors. These compounds play a pivotal role in reducing oxidative stress, supporting vision, bolstering immune function, and promoting skin health.

In bananas and plantains, the types and amounts of carotenoids vary depending on the cultivar and ripeness of the fruit. Common carotenoids include beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and lutein. Beta-carotene, the most studied of these, serves as a precursor to vitamin A, an essential nutrient for maintaining healthy eyesight, particularly night vision, and for fortifying the immune system. Lutein, on the other hand, is known for its role in eye health, particularly in reducing the risk of age-related macular degeneration.

The nutritional contribution of carotenoids is particularly pronounced in plantains, which generally contain higher carotenoid concentrations than bananas. In their unripe green stage, plantains have carotenoid levels that are significantly higher than their ripe counterparts. As bananas and plantains ripen, enzymatic and biochemical changes often lead to a reduction in carotenoid content, highlighting the importance of consuming these fruits at varying stages of ripeness to maximize their nutritional benefits.

Carotenoids also contribute to disease prevention. Regular consumption of carotenoid-rich foods, including bananas and plantains, has been linked to a reduced risk of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and some cancers. Their potent antioxidant properties neutralize harmful free radicals, reducing cellular damage and inflammation, both of which are underlying factors in chronic diseases.

In addition to these health benefits, bananas and plantains are accessible and versatile dietary staples in many regions, particularly in tropical and subtropical areas. Their affordability and widespread availability make them a practical source of carotenoids for populations at risk of vitamin A deficiency, a condition that affects millions globally.

Incorporating bananas and plantains into daily meals is a simple yet effective way to boost dietary carotenoid intake. Whether consumed as a ripe snack, cooked, or incorporated into traditional recipes, these fruits offer significant nutritional benefits, underscoring their value in a balanced and health-promoting diet.
Carotenoids in Bananas and Plantains: Nutritional Significance and Health Benefits

Vitamin A in banana

Bananas are considered as a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, manganese, potassium and digestible food fibers are present in the fruits in sizeable levels.

In ripe banana the major carotenoids are lutein, α-carotene, and β-carotene. A deep yellow or orange color associated with carotenoids. β-carotene is the provitamin A carotenoid contributing the most to vitamin A status.

Banana peels are a rich source of bioactive compounds, such as carotenoids (β-carotene).

Consumption of the fruit itself or products derived from the cultivars could provide substantial contributions to the vitamin A intake of vulnerable population groups, such as children 6–59 months and women of reproductive age.

Vitamin A aids in healthy teeth, bones, soft tissue, and mucus membrane. It is also known as retinol because it produces the pigments in the retina of the eye.Vitamin A promotes good eyesight, especially in low light. It also has a role in healthy pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Vitamin A in banana

Carotenoids rich banana

The Food and Agriculture Organization considers banana the fourth most important food in the world, after rice, wheat, and maize. People in developed countries are mostly familiar with Cavendish bananas. Internationally this cultivar accounts for 41% of all banana production. However, there are over 30 banana species, with around 500 varieties having edible fruits, which make up the remaining world production.

Bananas have a considerable diversity in fruit carotenoid content. Carotenoids are known for their wide distribution, structural diversity and multiple functions. Animals are unable to biosynthesize carotenoids. Thus, they depend on dietary provitamin A carotenoids, which can be absorbed and converted into vitamin A after ingestion. Hydrocarbon carotenoids are known as carotenes, and oxygenated derivatives are called xanthophylls.

Carotenoids are present in fruits, vegetables and other crops and they are also found in algae, bacteria, yeast and fungi.

Recent studies have identified 18 banana cultivars grown in Micronesia that have high levels of provitamin A. The Pohnpei Karat banana, a traditional weaning food in the Federated States of Micronesia, contains 867 µg of β-carotene/100 g (average of several samples analyzed by two laboratories).

Some Southeast Asia banana cultivars contain 300 to 400 µg of β-carotene/100 g. These commonly eaten bananas have over 10 times the β-carotene level of the common Cavendish.

The coloration of the ripe edible flesh (in these studies ranging from white to cream to yellow to yellow/orange to orange) was a good indicator of carotenoid content, with higher levels in deeper yellow and orange-fleshed cultivars.

Provitamin A carotenoids, most importantly α-carotene, followed by β-carotene, are those which are converted into vitamin A in the body and help protect against infection, night blindness and eye disease.

Carotenoid-rich foods, whether with vitamin A activity or not, have been credited with other beneficial effects on human health: enhancement of the immune response and reduction of the risk of degenerative diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, cataracts and macular degeneration.
Carotenoids rich banana

What is lutein?

As humans are unable to synthesize carotenoids, they must ingest plant products or animal products that have been enriched with carotenoids to meet daily health recommendations. The six most commonly ingested carotenoids in the human diet can be separated into two groups:
(1) Provitamin A carotenoids (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin)
(2) Non-provitamin A carotenoids (lutein, lycopene, and zeaxanthin).

Lutein is one of the most prevalent carotenoids in nature and in the human diet. In ripe bananas, one of the major carotenoids is lutein. Lutein abundantly found in banana peel and belongs to xanthophyll's family.

Like the other carotenoids, lutein has been shown to have antioxidant effects. Lutein and zeaxanthin are constituents of the pigment of the eye. A low density of this pigment in the macula of the eye may increase the risk of the disorder macular degeneration, possibly because it permits greater blue light damage.

Lutein is likely neuro-protective through its role as an antioxidant, an effect that may apply globally and not be limited to specific regions or cognitive domains.

The brain is especially vulnerable to free radical attack due to its high polyunsaturated fatty acid content and high metabolic activity. Lutein is differentially localized to membrane domains rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids including DHA, and therefore is well positioned to block oxidation of these vulnerable lipids.
What is lutein?

β-carotene

The yellow and orange-fleshed bananas are rich in provitamin A and other carotenoids. Provitamin A carotenoids, including β-carotene, are important for protecting against vitamin A efficiency and anemia.

The concentration of β-carotene decreases from 1.04 mg per 100 g when green (unripe) to 0.66 mg when ripe. β-carotene has the highest vitamin A activity. Because of differences in uptake storage and chemical processing, only about one-sixth of the β-carotene in a plant food ends up as vitamin A (retinol) in the body.

Vitamin A performs many vital functions including the growth and repair of body tissue, formation of bones and teeth, resistance of the body to infection and development of healthy eye tissues.

Epidemiological studies have linked high intake of foods rich in β-carotene and high blood levels of micronutrients to a lower risk of cancer, as well as other health conditions linked to oxidative damage such as heart disease, macular generation and cataracts.
β-carotene