Resistant Starch and Bioactive Contents of Unripe Banana Flour as Influenced by Harvesting Periods and Its Application

Abstract

Recently, various innovative products from unripe banana flour have been reported as it is high in resistant starch and other important compounds. The harvesting period of the unripe banana fruit is one of the key factors affecting the quality of the unripe banana flour in terms of resistant starch and bioactive compound content. The study aimed to investigate the effect of the harvesting stages of unripe banana fruit on Resistant Starch (RS) content, carotenoid content, antioxidant activity and the application of unripe banana flour to prepare high RS rice noodle. Four different harvesting stages of banana fruits of Musa sapientum Linn including 75, 90, 105 and 120 days after bloom, were processed for banana flours. The results indicated that the maturation stages affected RS, some bioactive contents, antioxidant activities. The highest RS content (48.88%) of banana flour was obtained from the 105 day banana fruits. The total phenolic and carotenoid contents were high in the banana flours harvested between 75 and 105 days. The unripe banana flour could be substituted for rice flour as high as 80% and contained RS content as high as 18.64% whereas the commercial rice noodle had 4.21% of RS content. Therefore, the preparation of unripe banana flour from banana fruit harvested at 105 days and applying it in the preparation of functional food is promising.

Production, application and health effects of banana pulp and peel flour in the food industry

“…Phenolics, carotenoids, flavonoids, biogenic amines, phytosterols, and other phytochemicals can be found in BP and peel (Pereira and Maraschin 2015). Due to the presence of these compounds, bananas have a higher antioxidant capacity than some berries, herbs and vegetables (Moongngarm et al 2014). Bioactive compounds in different cultivars of banana and their health benefits were reviewed in details by Singh et al (2016).…”

The Effects of Unripe Banana Flour on Resistant Starch Content and Quality Characteristics of Gluten-Free Rice Cookies

“…The rice flour was passed through a 100 mesh sieve, packed in plastic bags and stored at 4 °C until required for use (Detchewa et al, 2016). Unripe banana flour was produced from green bananas at Stage 2-3, according to the 7-color scale of the banana chart (Dadzie & Orchard, 1997), and prepared according to Moongngarm et al (2014). Briefly, unripe banana slices were soaked in 0.5% citric acid solution for 15 minutes to avoid enzymatic browning and they were dried in an oven (TD024T, Bangkok, Thailand) at 50 °C until the moisture content was below 10%.…”

“…The highest amount of resistant starch content was found in gluten-free rice flour cookies replaced with 100% unripe banana flour (0% rice flour). Moongngarm et al (2014) stated that unripe banana flour had a high RS content (48.88%), therefore, it was a good source for improving the RS content of food products. Moreover, since unripe banana flour has a high amylose content, baking at high temperature in the presence of free lipids formed amylose-lipid complexes.…”

“…Unripe banana (Musa sapientum L., Kluai Nam Wa) is a good source of dietary fiber, resistant starch, non-starch polysaccharides, including pectin, and other bioactive compounds (Faisant et al, 1995;Moongngarm et al, 2014;Segundo et al, 2017). Resistant starch (RS) is a bioactive compound that has a high potential to improve dietary fiber and lower the glycemic index in food products.…”

“…Unripe banana flour is also a good source of total phenolic content with 746.67 mg catechol/100 g flour and 65.58% antioxidant activity (Haslinda et al, 2009). Unripe banana flour contains resistant starch type 2 (RS2) (Brown et al, 2006) at up to 48.88% (Moongngarm et al, 2014). Unripe banana flour has been used in a variety of products to increase the RS content and improve digestibility.…”