PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL PROFILING OF GREEN BANANA BY-PRODUCTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CAVENDISH AND SAPIENTUM CULTIVARS

Banana (Musa spp.) is a tropical fruit widely produced and consumed around the world. In the initial stages of maturation, when it appears as a green banana (GB), it has nutritional and physiological attributes that confer significant functional potential. In the present study, two cultivars (Cavendish - CAV and Sapientum - MAR) were used for the preparation of by-products of GB. Alterations in physicochemical composition resulting from several types of processing (flour and biomass) of the two edible fractions (skin and pulp) were evaluated, from the processing of a plantain variety, compared to a variety for dessert. The content of total dietary fiber showed great variation between the fractions and cultivars studied (8.6g/100g - 56g/100g). Soluble fibers are composed of the following sugars: glucose, mannose, rhamnose, arabinose, galactose, and fucose. MAR had higher resistant starch (RS) content both in the pulp flour (2 times richer in RS) and in the pulp biomass (22% higher), when compared to the same fractions of CAV. Potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium were the minerals present in the largest amounts in both cultivars studied. The process of obtaining pulp flour for the MAR cultivar generated a 57% increase in the total phenolic compounds (TPC) value, while for the CAV cultivar there was a 75% reduction. The use of multivariate analysis revealed the similarities between the CAV and MAR varieties, indicating employment possibilities for the preparation of GB by-products. 

Financial support: CAPES (PNPD and Demanda Social Program, Finance Code 001); CNPq (PIBIC)