Presence of Highly Polymerized Proanthocyanidins in Pulp and Peel of Unripe Bananas (Musa Sp.) from the French West Indies
Abstract
Banana ranks as the fifth most cultivated crop in the West Indies and more generally in the world. The banana’s health-promoting benefits are correlated with its composition of bioactive compounds, such as phenolic molecules. Thus, the present study attempts to evaluate the potential health benefits of banana phenolic content. Banana peel and pulp were analyzed using reverse-phase HPLC coupled with diode array (HPLC-DAD) detection following thioacidolysis to quantify phenolic compounds. Proanthocyanidins were the main polyphenol class in both pulp and peel, with concentrations ranging from 0.042 to 0.096 g/100 g DW in the pulp and from 0.098 to 0.125 g/100 g DW in the peel. They were characterized by a very high average degree of polymerization (n), ranging around 17 to 37 in the peel and from 67 to 189 in the pulp, depending on the variety. They comprised mainly (-)-epigallocatechin and (-)-epicatechin, with a small proportion of (+)-catechin as the terminal unit. Dopamine was also abundant, with much higher concentrations in the peel than in the pulp (up to 0.780 g/100 g DW and 0.0060 g/100g DW, respectively). Flavonols with varied aglycones (myricetin, quercetin, isorhamnetin, and kaempferol derivatives) also had higher concentrations in the peel. Hydroxycinnamic acids and anthocyanins could also be detected in the red banana peel variety.
Domains
Life Sciences [q-bio]Origin | Publisher files allowed on an open archive |
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