Banana

Banana: introduction

Probably, the origin of the term "banana" refers to Arabic banan, ie finger: precisely for this translation, in the contemporary age, bananas are also commonly called "fingers".

Until recently, the name was given to the banana Heavenly muse or Musa sapientum, to indicate the different banana species belonging to the Musaceae family; the "modern" bananas, however, lose these names, to be renamed with the more current ones Sharp muzzle And Musa balbisiana, based on their genome constitution.

Fruit, leaves, flowers and seeds

The banana represents the fruit originating from the banana tree: more precisely, we speak of fruit apyrene of the plant itself, this being devoid of seeds.

The banana plant has achieved the distinction of being the largest herbaceous plant with a flower; it is imprecise to speak of tree, because the stem is actually a herbaceous pseudo-stem, whose strength is due to the meeting of the sheaths of the leaves.
The leaves develop in the upper part, ending in a sort of crown; at the center of the leaves grow the flowers, often characterized by very large bracts (improperly called petals) of purple color.

Bananas are seedless berries, seedless fruits with yellow skin and white and fleshy pulp: the black dots that can be seen inside the pulp are the remains of the seeds.
Bananas grow in clusters, called helmets, sometimes consisting of over 200 bananas, which can weigh up to 30 or 50 kilos in total.

Bananas: nutritional composition

Each single banana weighs about 150 grams, of which 75% is made up of water and the remaining 25% of dry matter (carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fiber).
The banana fruit also represents a mine of vitamins and minerals: pro-vitamin A (beta-carotene), vitamins of group B (in particular vitamin B1, B2, B3 - also known as vitamin PP) and vitamin C. Among the vitamins Vitamin E cannot be missing, albeit in small quantities, and vitamin B6, which is also present only in trace amounts.
Calcium, phosphorus, iron and potassium represent four classes of trace elements contained in the fruit, but potassium is certainly the most present mineral: so much so that bananas are also considered slightly radioactive, much more than the other fruits (there is a quantity of potassium-40 mixed with potassium ).
The known allergenic power of banana is due to the presence of some proteins present in the pulp.
Like all fruit and vegetables, even bananas should be consumed fresh, to allow the body to make the most of the vitamins and minerals contained therein.
Some are also included in the fruit active amines: serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine.

See also: Banana Diet »

Maturation

When the color of the pulp is not clear, but stained with brown spots, it is a sign of an accumulation of sugars; small brown spots can also appear on the peel and indicate the degree of ripeness of the fruit.
Bananas, in general, are not harvested ripe, because they tend to ripen even after harvesting: they emit a substance, known as ethylene, which accelerates the ripening of the fruit. Strictly speaking, the banana is considered a climacteric fruit, an even more marked phenomenon than apple and tomato: the warm and poorly ventilated climate, typical of tropical countries where bananas are widely cultivated, favors the production of ethylene, accelerating it. maturation.

Bananas and diseases

Following some diseases affecting bananas, some experts believe that as early as the next decade the banana could become extinct: the edible banana is, in fact, particularly sensitive to some diseases caused by terrestrial fungi (Disease Of Panama). He also remembers Sigatoka Black, another disease caused by fungi, and the plague, which affects banana plants in America, Asia and Africa.
In order to protect bananas from disease, banana fruits are usually placed in containers containing pesticides such as, for example, thiobenzole: this substance confers protection from the diseases generated by those fungi that tend to enter between the peel and the pulp of the banana (disease known as "transport disease"). Bananas, which have to be exported all over the world from tropical countries, are very susceptible to this problem.

properties of bananas "

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