Banana Peel (Musa ABB cv. Nam Wa Mali-Ong) as a Source of Value-Adding Components and the Functional Properties of Its Bioactive Ingredients

Abstract

Banana peel (BP) is the primary by-product generated during banana processing which causes numerous environmental issues. This study examines the physical attributes, proximate analysis, glycoarray profiling, antioxidant abilities, and prebiotic activity of BP. The analysis demonstrated that carbohydrates constituted the primary components of BP and the glycoarray profiling indicated that BP contains multiple pectin and hemicellulose structures. BP also contained phenolic compounds, including (+)-catechin and gallic acid, flavonoid compounds, and antioxidant activities. BP demonstrated prebiotic effects by promoting the proliferation of advantageous gut bacteria while inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria. The prebiotic index scores demonstrated that BP exhibited a greater capacity to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in comparison to regular sugar. The study demonstrated the potential of the BP as a valuable source of dietary fibre, bioactive compounds, and prebiotics. These components have beneficial characteristics and can be utilised in the production of food, feed additives, and functional food.

Keywords: antioxidant properties; banana by-product; glycoarray; prebiotic activity; prebiotic index.

Figure 1

The processing flow diagram coup with mass flow balance of dried banana manufacturer.

Figure 2

(A) The appearance of bananas during the storage. (B) The PCA analysis of bananas’ physical properties during storage.

Figure 3

Heatmap diagram of glycoactive ingredients recovered by CDTA, NaOH, H₂O, and cellulase reagents (A); loading plot (B) and biplot (C) of the monoclonal antibodies in comprehensive microarray polymer profiling. The green circle in Figure 3C symbolises the potential correlation between the glycoactive ingredients and the antibody.