Abstract
Musa paradisiaca Linn. (Plantain or cooking banana) is among the major crops that are being cultivated by farmers and serve as the main food crop for both animals and humans in some parts of the world. It shows several beneficial properties. In traditional medicine, the fruits in addition to the other parts of the plant such as the stalk, peel, pulp and leaf are used to treat different diseases in humans. This review presents the scientific information on the pharmacological potentials, possible nutritional values and phytochemicals of this Musa species. It is a source of carbohydrate that can easily be digestible and also provides vital vitamins like vitamin B complex, vitamin C and a lot of minerals like potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) etc. Most of the in vitro studies, in vivo (animal model) studies and clinical trials, propose that innumerable banana and plantain parts have been utilized in traditional medicine for the treatment of countless non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer, hypertension, atherosclerosis, ulcers, urolithiasis and Alzheimer’s infection. Also, this review reports the phytocompounds isolated through the use of different solvents for extraction of the plant’s parts. A comprehensive assessment of the biological activities of different extracts is included and possible mechanisms and phytochemicals involved have been correlated.
Highlights
Musa paradisiaca Linn. often referred to as plantain or cooking banana is an herbaceous flower-producing plant
Musa paradisiaca Linn. is studied to be the largest herb produced in the world, and it is planted in several developing and developed countries around the world
Proximate analysis was done on M. paradisiaca and shown the presence of many nutrients like carbohydrates (23 gm), dietary fiber (2.6 gm), protein (1.1 gm), lipids (0.3 gm), as well as minerals such as Potassium-K, Magnesium-Mg, Phosphorus-P, Calcium-Ca, Sodium-Na, Zinc-Zn and Iron-Fe, water-soluble vitamins such as Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Ascorbic acid and Folic acid [17,18,19]
Summary
Musa paradisiaca Linn. often referred to as plantain or cooking banana is an herbaceous flower-producing plant. The phytochemical screening of banana extracted with ethanol and methanol showed the presence of certain secondary metabolites like alkaloid, saponin, flavonoid, steroid, tannin, xanthoprotein and glycoside [22], (Table 1). In a study the evaluation had been conducted on the effects of M. paradisiaca leaf, fruit and peel, extracted with hydroethanolic solvent as an antihyperglycemic in nicotinamide (NA) and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats and described possible mechanism of actions.
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