Ethnomedicinal Information and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Analysis of Water Soluble Vitamins (C, B1, B3, B6, folic acid) and Fat Soluble Vitamins (A, D3, E) of Three Consumable Parts of Musa paradisiaca: Cultivated in Tripura, India

Abstract

Musa paradisiaca (Banana plant), which belongs to Musaceae, is a tropical plant-based fruit crop for Tripura, India. The main consumable parts of the banana plant are fruit, stem, and flower. This study aims to ethonomedicinal survey and determine the water-soluble (C, B1, B3, B6, folic acid) and fat-soluble (A, D3, E) vitamins of three consumable parts (unripe fruit, stem, and flower) of Musa paradisiaca, cultivated in Tripura, India. Ethnomedicinal information of plant samples were collected by field survey method. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method was used for the determination of water-soluble (C, B1, B3, B6, folic acid) and fat-soluble (A, D3, E) vitamins. From ethnomedicinal survey it was observed that three edible parts of Musa paradisiaca to have medicinal values. The results revealed that banana fruit and banana stem contained an appreciated amount of water-soluble vitamins (C, B1, B3, B6, folic acid) compared to banana flowers. The content of vitamin C of banana fruit, banana stem, and the banana flower was 1.3±0.2 mg/g dry powder, 1.8±0.3 mg/g dry powder, and 0.7±0.2 mg/g dry powder respectively. In fat-soluble vitamins, vitamin A was present in a fair amount of banana fruit (18.3±3.8 mg/g dry powder), stem (11.8±2.3 mg/g dry powder), and flower (10.7±1.6 mg/g dry powder). Results suggested that frequent intake of the banana's consumable parts may minimize vitamin deficiency in the human body.