Chemical composition of banana peel

Banana is a herbaceous plant of the family Musaceae. It is known to have originated from the tropical region of Southern Asia.

The fruit grows in hanging clusters, with 20 fruits to a tie and 3-20 tie to a bunch. The fruit is protected by its peel which is discarded as waste after the inner fleshy portion is eaten. Banana peel accounts about 40% of overall weight of the fresh fruit. Banana peels have different medical advantages to amazing dietary status, and it treats the intestinal sore, looseness of the bowels, diarrhea, ulcerative colitis, nephritis, gout, heart infection, hypertension and diabetes.

This resulted in 200 tons of waste from banana peels generated each day and this amount tends to increase annually. The banana peels waste is normally disposed in municipal landfills, which contribute to the existing environmental problems.

Moisture content of the peel to be 6.7%. The value is relatively low, and may perhaps be due to the time of harvest. The low value also designate that the peel can be amass for a long time without growing moldy. The ash content was found to 8.50%.

The organic matter content was found to be 91.50%. Organic matter measures the nutritional value (lipids, proteins and carbohydrate) of a plant material. The high value indicates that banana peels are good sources of nutrients. On the average, banana peels contain 6-9% dry matter of protein and 20- 30% fiber (measured as NDF). Green plantain peels contain 40% starch that is transformed into sugars after ripening.

The high dietary fiber content of banana peel (about 50 g/ 100 g) is indicative of a good source of dietary fiber.

Banana peel is rich in phytochemical compounds mainly antioxidants. The total amount of phenolic compounds in banana peel has been represented for from 0.90 to 3.0 g/100 g dry weight.

It also contains antioxidant compounds including polyphenols, catecholamins and carotenoids. Dietary polyphenols, with the aid of its wonderful antioxidant properties that cross beyond the adjustment of oxidative stress, play a critical function in the prevention of degenerative diseases especially, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

The antifungal, antibiotic properties of banana peel can put to be good use. The peel is used for home remedy for treating several skin problems including allergies and skin irritations.

Banana peels are used as feedstock as they have some nutritional values. Banana peels are widely used for that purpose on small farms in regions where bananas are grown. There are some concerns over the impact of tannins contained in the peels on animals that consume them.

In recent times, banana peel has been utilized for various industrial applications including bio-fuel production, bio-sorbents, pulp and paper, cosmetics, energy related activities, organic fertilizer, environmental clean-up and biotechnology related processes.
Chemical composition of banana peel

Ethanol production from banana peels

Banana represents one of the most important fruit crops, with a global annual production of more than 50 million tons. Peels constitute up to 30% of the ripe fruits. It was reported that banana peel is an energy-rich carbohydrate substrate for single-cell protein production for food and feed applications.

Attempts at utilization of banana waste include the biotechnological production of protein, ethanol, alpha-amylases and cellulalases. The idea of ethanol as an alternative fuel was realized, when it was clear that could be used as an octane enhancer on automobiles. In search of cheaper alcohol source, a number of lignocellulosic wastes were put on bioconversion trial. Banana peels have lately tried.

The production of ethanol from banana peel was reported in the 1980s (Ethanol from banana peels H.K. Tewari, S.S. Marwaha, K. Rupal Agricultural Wastes Volume 16, Issue 2, 1986, Pages 135-146).

The peels were saccharified with H2SO4, cellulose and steam and fermented with Saccharomyces ceravisiae var, ellipsoideus. Depending on the concentration, pressure and time, different rates of sachharification were achieved. The process was further accelerated by steaming and autoclaving.

With the cellulase, an ethanol yield of 1.38%, and with H2SO4 treatments, an ethanol yield of 0.78% was obtained Ethanol from banana peels.
Ethanol production from banana peels

Chemical composition of banana peels

The studies showed that flour prepared from unpeeled banana had enhanced nutrition values with higher concentrations of mineral, dietary fiber and total phenolics.

In addition, researches indicated that flour fortified with peel showed higher antioxidant activity and had better properties that flour without peel.

Musa sapientum peels were analyzed for minerals, nutritional and anti –nutritional contents. The result of mineral content indicate the concentrations (mg/g) of potassium, calcium, sodium, iron, manganese, bromine, rubidium, strontium, zirconium and niobium to be 78.10, 19.20, 24.30, 0.61, 76.20, 0.04, 0.21, 0.03, 0.02 and 0.02 respectively (Electronic Journal of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Chemistry 01/2009; 8(6):437-4442).

The percentage concentrations of protein, crude lipid, carbohydrate and crude fibre were 0.90, 1.70, 59.00 and 31.70 respectively.

The results indicate that if the peels are properly exploited and process, they could be a high-quality and cheap source of carbohydrates and minerals for livestock.

Banana peel composition from diverse varieties and different ripening stages has been studied to evaluate its potential applications in diverse varieties and ripening stages. In general, crude protein, which increases with the ripening stage ranged between 6.3% and 11.2%.

Starch content in the peel decreased with the ripening stage, but in stage 1 (green), significant differences in the component were found, depending on the subgroup, because the plantain subgroup had a higher starch amount than the subgroups Cavendish and Ibota.
Chemical composition of banana peels

Banana alcohol

Banana wine played a prominent role in the ritual and social events of the major interlacustrine kingdoms of East Africa.

Homemade banana alcohol, although considered illegal is widely produced in many countries in Africa and many-scale farmers depend on this for their income.

The juice from the ripe fruit of varieties known as ‘beer bananas’ is also drunk fresh or fermented to make a beer with low alcohol content and short of shelf life.

Banana wine is used extensively as a basis for distillation in interlacustrine East Africa, and wine produced for this purpose does not have sorghum added to it before fermentation.

In Philippines a large quantity of banana export rejected used for preparation of alcohol. Juice extracted from the ripe fruit was found to contain approximately 126 g/L total sugars.

In production of alcohol from banana peel by subjecting the material to saccharification treatments using either sulfuric acid, steam, under pressure or cellulose.

The fermentation of the juice was carried out with Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. ellipsoideus. The alcohol yield was approximately 150 ml/kg of peel.
Banana alcohol

The uses of banana peel

Banana peel is an energy-rich carbohydrate substrate for single-cell protein production for food and feed.

In traditional medicine, banana peels have been reported to be useful against cancer and heart disease since these peels are rich in gallocatechin, and important antioxidant involved in the prevention of these diseases.

The banana peel, which is the waste from banana processing, is also term as banana waste. These wastes can be utilized for the production of ligninolytic enzymes.

Banana skin has been used as a support-substrate for the production of extracellular laccase by the white-rot fungus Trametes pubescens.

It was reported that alcohol can be produced from banana peels by subjecting the material to saccharification treatment using either sulfuric acid, steam under pressure or cellulase. The fermentation was carried out with Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. ellipsoideus.

For certain people, banana peel can be eaten, usually grated fried and mixed with black eyed peas.

The green banana peel contains about 50-100 ug/g fresh weight of chlorophyll, 5-7 ug/g fresh weight of xanthophyll and 1,5-3.5 ug/g fresh weight of carotene.

Banana peels also known for their antifungal and antibiotic propertied as well as being loaded with vitamin and minerals.

During ripening, chlorophylls lost, and total yellow pigment remains approximately constant.

Chlorophylls activity in banana peels increases sharply at the onset of the climacteric rises to a peak which coincides with the climacteric peak, and then falls to near zero in the post climacteric period.
The uses of banana peel