Determination of nutritional composition of four banana varieties available in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Banana (Musa spp.) is a widely grown and consumed semi perennial fruit crop in Sri Lanka. There are nearly thirty varieties of banana grown throughout the country either as dessert fruit or as cooking banana. However, the nutritional qualities of banana available in the retail market have not been explored enough. Therefore, the objective of the study was to evaluate the nutritional properties of widely consumed banana varieties in Sri Lanka. Four banana varieties having the highest availability and demand in the retail market i.e. Ambul (AAB), Anamalu (Cavendish type, AAA), Seeni Kesel (ABB) and Ash plantain (ABB) were evaluated for their nutritional qualities. For this, the samples were collected from three different market places in the upcountry intermediate zone and pooled. The proximate composition, flesh to peel ratio, vitamin C and potassium concentrations were determined and presented on fresh weight basis. The ranges for moisture, crude protein, crude fat and ash contents were 66.0±1.47 ˗ 76.4±0.52%, 1.0±0.08 ˗ 2.2±0.03%, 0.14±0.02-0.61±0.04% and 0.98±0.07 ˗ 2.29±0.04%, respectively. The vitamin C content varied between 3.13±0.27 mg/100 g in Seeni kesel and 8.35±0.33 mg/100 g in Anamalu. The highest potassium concentration (496.9±1.32 mg/100 g) and flesh to peel ratio (4.4±0.52) were recorded in Seeni kesel. Variety ash plantain possessed the highest crude protein and crude fat contents. Overall results revealed that the tested varieties of banana have unique and distinct nutritional properties and thus cannot be replaced by others to get the required benefits