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Different types of banana processing and by products
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Friday, 29 July, 2022, 14 : 00 PM [IST]
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Rathina C
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Fruits are essential components of a healthy diet due to their content of vitamins and minerals, fibre, and beneficial non-nutrient substances as bioactive compounds. The World Health Organization (WHO), recommend ingestion of at least 400 g (about five portions), of fruits and vegetables per day. Low fruit consumption is one of the main risk factors for increased mortality also increases the risk of chronic diseases and poor health quality.
Therefore, the regular consumption of fruits can reduce the incidence of some diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases, and some types of cancer. However, people do not usually consume the fresh green banana, mainly due to the typical hardness and its high astringency, caused by the presence of soluble phenolic compounds as tannins.
Therefore, studies have been using different GB derivate products such as flour, and green banana biomass (GBB). Despite the growing worldwide demand for GB products, there is no review study regarding the potential health benefits of GB and its derivatives. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the health benefits among different GB derivate products by a systematic review.
Banana (Musa sp.) is one of the most cultivated tropical fruit in the world. Worldwide more than 1000 varieties of bananas are produced. The most commercialized is the Musa Cavendish (about 45% of global banana market), due to its high production per hectare and its less prone to damage from environmental changes. The other large variety group of banana is the plantain (that has upwards of 100 cultivars). The banana varieties production corresponds to about 15% of the world’s total fresh fruit produced reaching about 110 million tons of bananas per year. Ripe bananas are prone to mechanical damage and are perishable during the maturation process, which makes their storage and transport difficult.
Therefore, fruit processing emerged aiming to solve problems such as the weak infrastructure, inadequate transportation, and perishable nature of the production, therefore the grower sustains substantial losses. During the post-harvest glut, the loss is considerable, and often, some of the production must be allowed to rot. The optimisation of banana processing has been studied to reduce the production of the waste (annual rejection is about 1/4 of the banana fruit) and to improve the bioavailability and utilization of nutrients available in this fruit, highlighting the use of green banana (GB) products.
Nutritive Value:
The consumption of GB products is becoming due to their nutritional potential and physiological benefits to human health. Green bananas seem to be a good source of fibers, vitamins (Vit C, B6, provitamin A), minerals (potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc), bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds, and resistant starch (RS), potentially contributing to health benefits, classifying GB as functional food.
Functional Properties:
The processing and utilisation of green banana into flour and starch and their effect on human health. It is to be noted that both green banana and unripe banana terms are used interchangeably to maintain the source information. Drying is one of best preservation techniques to remove excess water from the fresh produce.
The most common drying methods for plantains are sun drying and hot air drying. Reports are available on drying in a spouted bed, freeze-drying, and spray drying. Mechanically dried unripe banana flours (UBFs) are fine and cohesive particles, however, they show a low dispersibility and solubility in water, at ambient temperature. The best way to improve the flowability of UBF is the agglomeration process, where the particle sizes improve significantly. (Ahmed, Jasim et al.,2020).
Banana Processing:
The development of the banana export industry at the end of the 19th century has resulted in a surplus of fruit in producer countries. This is because of the high standards imposed on the appearance of fruit by importing countries resulting in a high proportion of the fruit being judged not to be of export quality. In recent decades this surplus has tended to increase due to increasing production from established and new producer countries and the changes in postharvest practices some 30 years ago, which enabled fruit to be transported as hands rather than bunches.
Biomass waste-to-energy valorisation technologies
Uganda?s banana industry is heavily impeded by the lack of cheap, reliable and sustainable energy mainly needed for processing of banana fruit into pulp and subsequent drying into chips before milling into banana flour that has several uses in the bakery industry, among others. Uganda has one of the lowest electricity access levels, estimated at only 2–3% in rural areas where most of the banana growing is located. In addition, most banana farmers have limited financial capacity to access modern solar energy technologies that can generate sufficient energy for industrial processing. Besides energy scarcity and unreliability, banana production, marketing and industrial processing generate large quantities of organic wastes that are disposed of majorly by unregulated dumping in places such as swamps, thereby forming huge putrefying biomass that emit green house gases (methane and carbon dioxide).
On the other hand, the energy content of banana waste, if harnessed through appropriate waste-to-energy technologies, would not only solve the energy requirement for processing of banana pulp, but would also offer an additional benefit of avoiding fossil fuels through the use of renewable energy.
Support Environment and Role In Poverty Reduction In Rural Tanzania
This study identified the strengths and weaknesses of small banana (Musa spp.) processing businesses and their potential for poverty reduction in rural Tanzania. A workshop was organized that mapped and characterized the banana processing businesses, service providers and the general banana processing sector in Tanzania.
Common banana products in the study areas are banana juice and local brew. Other banana by- products include hard alcohol (gongo), wine, dried bananas, flour, breads and biscuits. In general, processing of bananas was observed to be very limited. It is estimated that 80% of bananas produced are cooking bananas, 10% beer bananas, 8% dessert bananas and 2% plantains. Processed bananas account for 5% of sales, while fresh bananas for 95%. Banana processing businesses are limited to locally made and locally consumed products. Tanzania policies favour postharvest and value adding technologies for many products, including banana products. Specific cultivars of bananas are needed for certain products.
Different banana types produce different qualities of products. The price of bananas depends on the type of bananas, i.e., cooking bananas fetch higher prices than beer bananas. Banana processing businesses are mainly focused on soft and hard drinks with little confectioneries. Service providers in banana processing are limited. Banana processing still needs a lot of development for banana producers in Tanzania.
Local Banana as Raw Materials
The research aims to get the best local banana from several aspects (rendement total sugar content, organoleptic and nutritional value) in the process into banana flour (BF). Research conducted in July- September 2010 and mature green bananas were collected from the farmer?s field of Pardasuka Village, Ketibung District, South Lampung
Regency.Research conducted using randomized design with four banana types , a). Janten, b). Kepok Manado, c). Muli and d), Raja Nangka.. Analyses carried out on rendement, nutritional value, total sugar and whiteness. Organoleptic test was done for knowing customer preferences (color, flavor and texture) by 20 panelists with score 1 to 7 (very not like s/d really like).
Results showed that rendement of BF from Janten was the highest (range of recovery 35 36%) followed by BF from Raja Nangka (20-21%), Kepok Manado (20%) and Muli (16-17%). The highest total sugar was BF from Muli i.e .7.784% followed by Raja Nangka (4.985%), Kepok Manado (4.961%) and Janten (3.732%), whereas whiteness ranges from 42.85 to 61, 55% with the highest levels of whiteness of BF from Kepok Manado (61.55%), followed Janten (54%), Raja Nangka (43.25%) and the lowest of Muli (42.85%). The BF contained protein (from 2.545 to 3.407%), fat (from 0.433 to 0.583%), carbohydrate (from 83.400 to 88.005%), ash (from 2.053 to 3.031%), crude fibre (from 0.524 to 1.897) and moisture content (from 5.586 to 6.603%).
The BF from Raja Nangka showed good characters (colour = 5.92), (texture = 5.69), and (flavour = 5.31) and panelist acceptance. Based on consideration of several aspects such as rendement, total sugar, consumer preferences, availability of raw materials and business analyses, the best bananas to be processed into flour in Lampung was the Raja Nangka banana and be able to increase the added value of > 15% with B/C ratio of 1.32 and competent to be developed.
Instant green banana flour powders - extrusion process
The preparation of instant green banana flour by using an extrusion process was studied. The effect of screw speed (SS, 600, 800 and 1000?rpm) and initial barrel temperature (BT, 20, 30, 40 and 50?°C) was evaluated regarding the physicochemical properties (moisture content, water activity, wettability and solubility) of the green banana flour obtained after extrusion. Additionally, the powder materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The commercial banana flour (CBF) did not measure wettability due to the agglomeration of the particles and the solubility at 30?°C was 6.94?±?0.78%.
The powders of the extruded banana flour showed wettability values between 8.5?±?0.89 and 56.5?±?2.15?s, and solubility between 59.36?±?1.02 and 80.61?±?1.25%, allowing obtaining material with characteristics for the preparation of an instant drink. The powders of the CBF extrudes showed the characteristic XRD pattern of an amorphous material, losing the typical morphology of the starch and modifying the thermal properties (gelatinisation temperature of the starch).
These changes in the structure and morphology of the extruded powders of CBF make the flour more soluble in water. The highest solubility values (approximately 80%) were obtained for conditions of screw speed of 800?rpm and initial barrel temperatures of 40 and 50?°C.
Production and Storage :
The consumption of green banana (GB) products is booming because of their nutritional and physiological benefits to human health. However, there have been no studies on the quality of these products after they are processed and stored. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether production and storage affect the sensory and physicochemical characteristics of green banana biomass (GBB). We performed microbiological tests (total coliforms, E. coli, Salmonella spp., aerobic psychotropic bacteria, moulds, yeasts, and Staphylococcus aureus); centesimal composition analysis (moisture, protein, ash, lipid, and fibre); and vitamin C, total phenolic content, and resistant starch analysis using official methods.
The tests were performed on GBB samples (pressure-cooked for 5 or 10?min) that were stored in freezing (-12?°C) or refrigerated conditions (4?°C). We evaluated the colour using a ColourQuestXE Spectrophotometer, and we conducted sensory analysis by the Checkall-that-apply test. We then used statistical tests to analyse the data. Five-minute pressure-cooking preserved the functional components, such as vitamin C, phenolic content, and fibre, better than the longer cooking process (10?min). There was no difference in acceptance attributes between the two cooking times.
Refrigeration was better than frozen storage for vitamin C and fibre content, but it did not affect the resistant starch and phenolic content. Refrigerated GBB had the best sensory test results for flavour, texture, and overall acceptance. The refrigerated storage of GBB seems to be the best option for consumer acceptance and maintenance of nutrients and bioactive compounds (vitamin C, resistant starch, and phenolic content).
By Products:
Pastas:
Viscosity and physical properties of flours and pastas prepared from four cultivars of green bananas (namely Pisang Berangan, Pisang Nangka, Pisang Tanduk, and Pisang Nipah) have been evaluated. The moisture content and water activity of banana flours were found in the range of 7.71%-8.50% wet basis and 0.330.37, respectively.
The peak viscosity of banana flours were observed in the order of Pisang Tanduk > Pisang Nipah > Pisang Nangka > Pisang Berangan. The water activity and colour of pastas prepared from banana flours were lower and darker compared to wheat pasta.
The firmness of banana flour dried pastas were observed significantly higher than wheat pasta, with Pisang Berangan pasta recorded the highest value of 446.53 ± 7.44 g. Among the green banana cultivars, pastas prepared from Pisang Nipah and Pisang Nangka flours are recommended for consumer who is preferred of bright colour and firm texture cooked pastas.
Pasta : Alternative for Gluten free diet
The objective of this study was to develop and analyse a gluten-free pasta made with green banana flour. The study was divided into five steps: preparation/selection, chemical, sensory, technological, and statistical analysis. The modified sample presented greater acceptance (84.5% for celiac individuals and 61.2% for nonceliac) than standard samples (53.6% for nonceliac individuals).
There was no significant difference between the modified and the standard samples in terms of appearance, aroma, flavour, and overall quality. The modified pastas presented approximately 98% less lipids. Green bananas are considered a subproduct of low commercial value with little industrial use. The possibility of developing gluten-free products with green banana flour can expand the product supply for people with celiac disease and contribute to a more diverse diet.
Banana Peel : Gluten Free Cakes:
Celiac Disease is the most common food sensitive entoropathy in humans that is triggered by the consumption of wheat gluten as well as related with protein in barley, rye and oat. The only treatment ever known for celiac disease is gluten-free diet. Most gluten-free food product on the market is rich in starch but poor in terms of other nutrients, functional and health beneficial ingredients.
Green (unripe) banana is a good source of resistant starch, non-starch polysaccharides including dietary fiber, antioxidants, poliphenols, essential minerals such as potassium, various vitamins e.g. pro vitamin A, carotenoid, B1, B2, C which are important for human health. In this research, it is aimed to develop nutritious and functional gluten free cake formulations by substituting green banana peel flour (GBPF) with rice flour (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) and to investigate physical properties of GBPF substituted cakes.
Cake volume, specific volume, density, baking loss and height of the cakes were in the range of 831.44 – 1034.11 cm3, 1.912.41 cm3/g, 0.41-0.52 g/cm3, 16.38-18.14% and 4.36-5.77 cm respectively. As a result, GBPF substituted gluten free cakes were successfully produced. Physical analyses of gluten free cakes showed that 5% and 10% GBPF substitution did not affect gluten free cake volume, specific volume, density and baking loss negatively. 5% and 10% GBPF substituted cakes were not different from control cake statistically (p>0.05).
However, substitution levels of 15% and 20% resulted in poorer physical properties. Sensory analysis (data not shown) indicated that all GBPF substitution levels were acceptable, as determined by hedonic scala tests. By developing a nutritious gluten free cake alternative, it is expected to provide an alternative in the dietary diversity of individuals with celiac disease.
Green Banana Flour Biscuits:
Green Banana Flour (GBF) can be an alternative to minimize these losses, further being a good source of nutrients, fiber, resistant starch and micronutrients. Considering the interesting possibilities of GBF utilization in the agrofood sector, the aims of this study, was the development of GBF cookies and preservation during three months in two different types of modified atmosphere.
The experimental design considered GBF radiation with gamma radiation (1 kGy and 3 kGy), with additional packaging in modified atmosphere, using 100% CO2 or a gas mixture containing 2% O2; 88% N2 e 10% CO2. As a control, non-radiated GBF was used. In general, it was observed that samples submitted to 3 kGy radiation, had the best results. Besides, packaging with gases mixture showed higher efficiency for GBF cookies preservation, due to CO2 absorption by the product.
Overall, the studies showed the health benefits using green banana products, most of them related to the gastrointestinal symptoms/diseases, followed by the glycemic/insulin metabolism, weight control, and renal and liver complications associated to diabetes, most of the studies using green banana flour. The children group studies showed that green banana pulp influenced both diarrhoea and constipation improvement. In healthy adults group, GBF increased satiety and influenced glucose homeostasis, as same as the GBP and GB starch.
Considering type 2 diabetes adults, studies showed a reduction of body weight and increase insulin sensitivity with GBF consumption. Among overweight women, GBF consumption improved anthropometric (weight and body composition), lipid profile, and inflammatory parameters. However, there is no standardisation regarding dose/effect to different age groups and different health effects considering the variety of the green banana, and the ripeness level. It is also important to emphasize that few studies well characterise the chemical composition of the green banana product used.
Further studies are relevant to evaluate if the health effects of green banana products remain when used as an ingredient of a potential “functional food” after the production of the food product. In addition to the GB, other nonconventional food from the banana production can be explored, aiming to reduce the environmental damage and improving the sustainability, contributing to the nutritional quality of the diet and reducing the hunger to a low-income population.
(The author is research scholar, Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore. She can be reached at cyruthangel28@gmail.com)
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