A banana as everyone knows, is a slender thick skinned edible fruit which varies in different sizes and colors. The word 'banan' is Arabic for finger. They are grown in Latin and South America, India, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, Panama and Guatemala. India is by far the largest world producer of bananas, growing 16.5 million tonnes in 2002, followed by Brazil which produced 6.5 million tonnes of bananas in 2002. Over 96% of American households purchase bananas at least once each month. There are more than 500 varieties of banana in the world.
There are Bananas of different colors such as:
Green [good for strength and impotency especially in males],
Yellow [edible fruit bananas],
Red [rich in carotene],
Baby yellow bananas; also known as pisang susa [which are known for their sweetness] and are edible when they ripe completely as the starch in it is converted to sugars such as sucrose, fructose and glucose. Raw bananas [green and 20-30 cm long] are also used for cooking and are even fried. Children love to eat fried chips made out of Bananas. Banana flowers [Known as Bond in Vasai] are also used for cooking, especially in India. Also numerous desserts have been prepared using this fruit, which simply add to delicacies of all time. A smoothie made from bananas along with curd simply tastes fabulous. Besides that Rajles [wild form of Banana found in Vasai] is used by East Indian people as a coolant for insect bites and also in sweet dishes made from coconut milk and jaggery.
Banana plant has leaves of about 4 x 1 m which are used as biodegradable plates in south India, especially during wedding.
What are the medicinal uses of Bananas?
Bananas are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and dietary fiber. One banana has 76gm% of water, 10mg% of the vitamin C, 0.50gm% of the potassium, 20gm% of sugar and 1.2gm% of protein and 3gm%of the dietary fiber needed each day for good health. The vitamin C in bananas helps your body to heal and defend against infections. Vitamin C also is valuable in the absorption of iron, synthesis of connective tissue, and blood formation. High in iron, bananas can increase the production of hemoglobin in the blood and help in cases of anemia. Due to presence of fiber, bananas also ensure that the bowel functioning is normal and thus helps in clearing out constipation.
The good source of potassium from bananas is helpful for your body to maintain the fluid balance in blood and tissue cells as well as help in improving intellectual ability of an individual. Potassium is also an essential mineral for protein synthesis and the building of muscle because it stimulates nerve impulses for muscle contraction.
Research suggests that a diet high in potassium may reduce the risk of hypertension and stroke. Because bananas are sodium-free and very rich in potassium, they can be eaten as part of a diet to reduce the risk of high blood pressure. Bananas have no fat, cholesterol or sodium. According to research in 'The New England Journal of Medicine' eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%.
They also contain a rich supply of vitamin B6, providing 20% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of B6. Vitamin B6 is significant in the synthesis of antibodies in the immune system. It also helps in protein metabolism, red blood cell formation and functioning of the central nervous system.B vitamins help in relieving stress of the nervous system as they send oxygen supply to the brain.
Bananas are great for athletic and fitness activity because they replenish necessary carbohydrates, glycogen and body fluids burned during exercise and gives much strength to an individual. Bananas contain more digestible carbohydrates than any other fruit. The advantage is that the body burns off calories from carbohydrates more quickly and easily than calories from protein or fat.
They are used against intestinal disorders and because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is one of the most important fruit that can be eaten in over-chronic ulcer cases as it is an antacid which neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation of the stomach. They are also used in patients suffering from heart-burns.
BRUNO LOPES is an MSc-2 student of T.N.Medical College and B.Y.L.Nair Charitable Hospital [MUMBAI UNIVERSITY] and likes to do research on Herbs and fruits and study their medicinal properties. He has graduated in Microbiology and Biochemistry[co-curricular honors in microbiology] from ST.XAVIERS COLLEGE, Mumbai [MUMBAI UNIVERSITY]. Currently he is researching on his dissertation topic, 'Role of Sodium potassium ATPase,Glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin in Diabetes mellitus' as a part of MSc-2.
His aim in life is to do something for betterment of mankind which he describes by a simple adage, which is,''Knowledge is education for oneself but wisdom for the sake of others'' His interests are Microbiology, Biochemistry, Oncology, Nutrition, Botany, Immunology, Virology and many more. He has a vast knowledege on scientific names of different plants and microbes ofcouse as he had graduated in Microbiology and Biochemistry.
Banana snack industry goes stale
Not so long ago, the Central Java town of Majenang was famous for being the home of sale pisang, a unique snack made with bananas, but recently the market changed and the local snack industry faded to a fraction of its former success.
Majenang, one of 23 districts in Cilacap regency in the far west of the province - bordering with Banjar and Ciamis regencies in West Java - has about 30 small factories producing the snack.
Before the 1998 economic crisis, there were around 100 such producers, leading Cilacap administration to come up with the idea of making the snack the icon of Majenang.
But with the crisis, the plan hit snags and many cottage industries were forced out of business. More than a decade later, the situation has yet to improve.
"Before the crisis I could sell 2 or 3 tons of fried banana sweets to Jakarta. But things are difficult now," Yayat, a 61-year-old sale pisang business owner, told The Jakarta Post in Majenang.
Today, Yayat produces only about 200 kilograms of sale pisang a month, and 99 percent of this is sold in Majenang. The snacks are sold in 250-gram packages, each costing around Rp 25,000 (US$2).
Another snack producer, Juremi, said that before the crisis she could send 2 tons of sale pisang to Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya each month.
"Now we only sell sale pisang for the local market," the 60-year-old said.
Juremi said most of the snack producers were struggling to survive.
"What's important is that business survives. If there are buyers in the city, that's enough. Sometimes we get an order from outside the city, but this is unreliable," she said.
"Once, a distributor from outside the city wanted to place an order, but the price he offered was too low to cover our production costs. Rather than suffering losses, we preferred not to take it."
Making sale pisang does not take long. Ripe bananas are cut into slices and dried in the sun.
"If the sun is bright, the bananas will dry out in two days. But in a rainy season like this, it takes about four days," Juremi said.
The dried bananas are then smeared with flour and deep-fried. After being drained, the banana chips are ready to be packaged and sold.
The sale pisang business has supported many, including farmers and traders who sell raw bananas to cottage industries in Majenang, as well as banana snack makers such as Juremi and Yayat, and the vendors.
Majenang district head, Heru Susedyo, said he was aware of the stagnant business situation.
"Sale pisang was once so popular that the Cilacap administration planned to make it the icon of Majenang city, but the plan could not be realized because sales keep decreasing."
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/06/
Thursday 15 January 2009
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