Food Bioprocess Technol DOI 10.

1007/s11947-010-0377-6

REVIEW PAPER

Post-harvest Processing of Banana: Opportunities and Challenges

Debabandya Mohapatra & Sabyasachi Mishra & Chandra Bhan Singh & Digvir Singh Jayas

Received: 20 January 2010 / Accepted: 5 May 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Abstract Banana has a special place in the daily diet of millions of people around the world for sustenance and nutrient enrichment. Some of the popular food uses of banana are chips, raw ripened fruit, cooked green banana, fermented and unfermented beverages, juice, puree, dried flour for bakery and infant formula food. Banana is also used as a starch source for various chemicals and packaging materials. The storability and functional properties of these products can be altered by the application of various innovative food processing technologies. This review article focuses on different banana products, their potential for non-conventional uses and associated prospective novel processing techniques for value addition and preservation. Keywords Banana . Processing . Juice . Chips . Puree . Powder

Introduction Banana at 81.3 million metric tonnes (Mt) in 2007 was the second largest produced fruit after citrus, contributing about 16% of the worlds total fruit production (FAO 2009). It is cultivated in over 130 countries, along the tropics and subtropics of Capricorn. It has originated from eastern Asia and then spread to all over the world through hybridisation. Some of the varieties have been linked to Africa (Simmonds 1966). Banana fruit is consumed by millions of people around the world as part of their daily diet and for nutrient enrichment in a variety of ways: mostly as fruit worldwide, staple food in most African countries and as ripe fruit, green vegetable and for other therapeutic uses in eastern parts of the world. As banana has low sodium and fat content, it is also consumed by people who are intolerant to salt. It is rich in carbohydrate, antioxidants like dopamine and minerals like potassium and calcium and caters to the calorific need of many developing countries (Kanazawa and Sakakibara 2000; Mohapatra et al. 2010a). The fruit also has antimicrobial and therapeutic properties. It is rich in ascorbic acid (4.512.7 mg/100 g fresh mass), -carotene (50120 g/100 g fresh weight), citric acid and malic acid, which can act synergistically as flavour enhancer when added to fruit juices and other finished products (Mohapatra et al. 2009, 2010a). It can be consumed in ample amount to meet the current recommended daily allowance to evade vitamin A and C deficiency apart from providing resistance to chronic diseases like cardiovascular dysfunction and muscular degeneration at old age and muscle cramp for athletes (Englberger et al. 2003; Wall 2006; Oguntibeju 2008) without bothering much about fat, as it is low in fat (0.1%) and sodium content (17 mg/100 g) (Mohapatra et al. 2010a). Special breeding practices have generated many

D. Mohapatra Faculty of Food Processing Technology and Bio-energy, Anand Agricultural University, Anand 388110, Gujarat, India e-mail: debabandya@gmail.com S. Mishra College of Agricultural Engineering and Post Harvest Technology, Central Agricultural University, Ranipool, Gangtok, Sikkim 737135, India e-mail: s.mishra@usask.ca C. B. Singh : D. S. Jayas (*) Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V6, Canada e-mail: Digvir_Jayas@umanitoba.ca C. B. Singh e-mail: singhcb@gmail.com

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carotenoid-rich banana cultivars that aim to be included in the dietary regime of targeted populations with specific nutritional requirement (Adeniji et al. 2006, 2007). Being a climacteric fruit, when harvested at the preclimacteric matured green stage, the fruit undergoes various physicochemical changes such as composition, colour, texture, aroma and taste, pertaining to changes in metabolic rates and biochemical reactions like respiration, ripening and senescence in the climacteric phase (Areas and Lajolo 1981; Wills et al. 1984; Adisa and Okey 1987; Garcia and Lajolo 1988; Kajuna et al. 1998a, b; Golding et al. 1999; Kiyoshi and Wahachiro 2003; Siriboon and Banlusilp 2004; Prasanna et al. 2007; Adeyemi and Oladiji 2009). In fact, the changes in the physicochemical properties are the manifestation of various complex biochemical reactions. Thus, bananas have different uses as the green matured fruit and yellow, orange or red coloured ripe fruit (Robinson 1996). For most people, the term banana includes banana, plantain and cooking bananas, which are the hybrids of pure Musa acuminate (AA) and Musa balbisiana (BB) genomes. The dessert banana or table bananas (AAA) are derived from the pure acuminate group. These are sweeter and less starchy than the AAB (Musa sapientum or true banana, Musa paradisica or plantains), ABB bananas (cooking banana) or pure BBB (Saba or cooking banana) (Simmonds 1966; Robinson 1996; Aurore et al. 2009). In many African countries, beer bananas, some of them comprising of AAA genome and some belonging to the AB group, are cultivated widely in the highlands and are used exclusively for the preparation of beer in the common household (Karamura and Pickersgill 1999). In this review article, products derived from green and table bananas that are usually eaten ripe and the procedures adopted for processing of these bananas are discussed. Some novel techniques with higher prospect of being used for processing and value addition of banana are also discussed.

2003; Pelayo et al. 2003; Watkins 2006; Mohapatra et al. 2010b). Bananas are susceptible to chilling injury; Morelli et al. (2003) suggested Red Macabu variety for transport in cold storages, which could be stored at 10C for a week without any symptom of chilling injury. After cleaning, dewaxing and disinfestations, the fruits are generally peeled manually or mechanically. Usually, the green bananas are peeled manually, as the pectin is yet to degrade and separate from the endocarp. But the separation of ripe banana peel is easier, it can be done by passing the banana through two steel rolls which splits the peel and separates the peel from pulp (Alvarez et al. 2007). A process flow chart of various products derived from banana is shown in Fig. 1. Ripe Banana Ripe banana has antioxidant properties and is rich in potassium (342.3 mg/100 g), carotenoids (>35 mg/100 g) and ascorbic acid (12.7 mg/100 g) (Englberger et al. 2003; Wall 2006). It is used in treating diarrhoea and in other therapeutic purposes such as cardiovascular diseases (Clements et al. 1980). It also has thaumatin-like protein and lectins, which are responsible for the starch metabolism, senescence and defence mechanism. Eating ripe banana with these immunity-defending proteins can boost immune response (Barre et al. 2000; Peumans et al. 2000; Rdiger and Gabius 2001). Ripe banana is highly nutritive and usually consumed raw, throughout the world, for its easy digestibility, taste and aroma (Sharrock and Lustry 2000). With the advent of new age food processing technologies, several ripe banana products are flooding the market for specialty uses. Some hybrids are cultivated with high carotenoid content so that its consumption can augment the vitamin supplements in diets of populations solely dependent on banana (Englberger et al. 2003). Ripe banana has numerous uses, from fruit that is to be consumed raw or in the fried form to the banana starch that constitutes the base of infant food, as starch filler in fruit smoothie to banana chips; the list is endless. Banana Puree/Pulp Ripe bananas are crushed, with or without water, and the puree thus obtained is preserved for use in bakery products, production of smoothie, or further processed to obtain juice or dried powder. It can also be added to other fruit juices, being a cheaper source of sugar and starch filler, which provides body to the texture. This also acts as a potassium supplement to the mixed fruit smoothie (Tenbrink et al. 2009). The main constraint of adding banana puree or pulp is the discoloration of the puree during processing and storage, which is due to the oxidation of tannins and

Processing of Banana Bananas are usually harvested at the fully matured green stage, usually in the preclimacteric phase. The green matured fruits that are to be consumed as staple food or specialised product are further cooked or processed, whereas bananas which are to be consumed locally are stored under ethylene-rich condition to accelerate the ripening process by the addition of various chemicals like ethephon (Vendrell 1985; Domnguez and Vendrell 1994) and those which are to be transported or exported are given chemical treatments such as nitrous oxide, salicyclic acid and 1-methylcyclopropane for delaying the aging process (Srivastava and Dwivedi 2000; Blankenship and Dole

Food Bioprocess Technol Fig. 1 Flow chart of various processed and unprocessed products derived from banana
Banana

Green Banana Frying Raw banana Frying Fried banana Jam Pulping

Ripe Banana Peeling Peel

Peeling

Slicing

Pectin

Cutting/Slicing

Drying

Chips

Puree Clarified Juice

Drying

Chips Jelly

Grinding

Flour

Fruit Bar

Grinding

Cooked (boiled/ steamed)

Starch

Alcoholic/ non-alcoholic beverages

Flour

activity of polyphenol oxidase on the phenolic compounds (Galeazzi and Sgarbieri 1981). The enzymatic activity can be reduced or inactivated by the use of chemicals such as sodium metabisulphite and ascorbic acid. Application of thermal and non-thermal treatments such as radio frequency (RF), microwave (MW), ohmic heating (OH), ultrasound, pulse electric field (PEF) and high pressure low temperature processing (Guerrero et al. 1996; Walkling-Ribeiro et al. 2008) ensures microbial destruction as well as enzymatic inactivation. These novel technologies have been applied to other fruit pulps like apple, avocado and peaches which are prone to browning (Sarang 2007). Literature pertaining to the application of these novel technologies for banana processing is limited and further research may be done to arrive at efficient processing conditions for a safe and stable product, which could limit the use of chemicals and intensive thermal processing. Banana Juice One of the major processed products of banana is banana juice. The juice can be extracted by mechanical press and/or with the action of pectinolytic enzymes like pectinase and polygalactouronase (Casimir and Jayaraman 1971; Viquez et al. 1981; Kyamuhangire et al. 2002; Lee et al. 2006). Some of the problems associated with banana juice production are browning, caused by polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activities, loss of ascorbic acid during thermal treatment and high tannin content. The banana juice processors may choose varieties having low peroxidase activity such as Berangan and Red Macabu, as they are less susceptible to chilling injury and browning during handling and transport (Morrelli et al. 2003; Yousaf et al. 2006). The extent of browning can

be overcome by adopting suitable modern technologies. Scientists and technologists have developed technologies like high pressure processing (HPP), PEF and irradiation for preservation of fruit juices and pulps which are susceptible to enzymatic browning (Noci et al. 2008). It is also difficult to get a clear banana juice because of the settlement of pectins, action of polyphenolic compounds and the formation of protein bond that causes cloudiness or haze as well as browning in the juice, marring consumer acceptability. Clarified banana juice can be obtained by treating the juice with enzyme like amylase and pectinase for starch hydrolysis and depectinisation followed by treatments with refining agents like bentonite and gelatine which reacts with the polyphenol compounds. Compounds, so formed, are then subsequently removed through microfiltration (Lee et al. 2007). Clarified banana juice can also be obtained through esterification, application of lime, thermal treatment, centrifugation, ultrafiltration and homogenisation (Koffi et al. 1991; Sims et al. 1994; Joye and Luzio 2000). The loss of ascorbic acid may be prevented by dipping the banana into sodium metabisulphite or ascorbic acid solution prior to thermal treatment. Banana juice has varied applications in making fermented and unfermented beverages. Being a cheap source of sugar, it can be added to other fruit juices after deflavouring. The deflavoured banana juice and banana essence can be derived from the ripe banana through homogenisation of the pulp, enzyme treatment, deaeration of the volatile flavouring compounds and condensation of the volatiles (Sole 1993). Care has to be taken while processing the bananas under high temperature as the flavouring components such as amyl acetate, amylpropionate and eugenol are lost (Issenberg and Wick 1963; Wick et al. 1969; Boudhrioua et al. 2003).

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Banana Beverages Unfermented Beverage The banana juice which is low in protein can also be fortified with other protein source like whey protein powder or concentrate, to be consumed as unfermented fortified beverage. Banana pectin on esterification has the ability to improve the functional properties of whey protein by the improved pectin-protein bonding (Mishra et al. 2001) and can be stabilised by ultra high temperature treatment (Koffi 2003). Fermented Beverage The clarified banana juice, rich in sugar and minerals with low acidity, is an ideal substrate for fermentation. It can be used as adjunct in beer making for improving the volume of ethanol production in case of all malt-wort beer; however, this results in a dark coloured beer, probably due to the polyphenol oxidase activity (Carvalho et al. 2009). Beer bananas having high astringency are not consumed by cooking, rather used for making beer (Karamura and Pickersgill 1999). The juice obtained by crushing and straining peeled ripe banana is mixed with water and crushed sorghum and allowed to ferment for up to 72 h, which results in a beer with low alcohol (25%). With pure banana juice however, a strong alcoholic (1115%) beer is obtained (Davies 1993). Similar to banana beer in Uganda, Agadagidi, a fermented beverage is produced in Nigeria from over ripe banana, by allowing the peeled sliced bananas in water to ferment at room temperature for 1 5 days. The fermented juice is then strained and consumed as beverage with enhanced nutritional properties, as fermentation reduces the flatulence forming oligosaccharides namely stachyose, verbascose and raffinose (Iwuoha and Eke 1996). Enzymes like pectinase and alpha amylase when acting upon the banana pulp degrade the pectin and contribute to starch saccharification and liquefaction, respectively, as required for fermentation of the juice for wine production (Cheirsilp and Umsakul 2008). Akubor et al. (2003) prepared wine from ripe banana juice using bakers yeast; the wine had 5% (v/v) alcohol, 0.04% protein and 1.4 mg/100 ml vitamin C with acceptable flavour, taste and clarity. Since banana is cheaper than other wine making fruits, it can be very well used as a substitute for alcoholic beverages in banana growing regions. Ripe Banana Chips and Figs In the earlier times, sun drying or air drying methods were used for preparing the banana figs which were very popular

among dry fruits. These drying methods generally result in extremely brown-coloured and off-flavoured product. With progress in technologies, osmotic dehydration gained a lot of popularity as it requires less energy and the product nutritive loss is minimised as compared to products obtained through solar and convective drying. In this process, banana slices are dipped into the isotonic sugar solution for partial water removal that results in sweeter tasting, stable and intermediate moisture content banana chips or figs (Ehabe et al. 2006). But the disadvantage of the osmotic dehydration is the sugar deposition in the cells of the dried product which alters the fresh taste of banana. The third generation drying system has got wide acceptance in industrial sector that is quickly adapting to microwave-vacuum, freeze and vacuum processes, in combination with osmosis, to produce a better quality product in terms of colour, texture and flavour. These processes reduce the dehydration time and operating cost (Draudt and Huang 1966; Boudhrioua et al. 2003; Wang et al. 2007b). Crispy chips with high protein content can be produced by adding egg albumin to banana puree followed by foam mat drying (Clement et al. 2004). Ripe Banana Flour/Powder Ripe banana flour has applicability for its high nutritive value and pasting properties. On ripening, the starch is converted into sugar; thus, the water retention capacity and the viscosity of the ripe banana flour decrease that makes it ideal for infant formula food. On thermal treatment of the flour in presence of water, the pasting properties also change. The modified flour has wide applications in weaning food, specialty bakery products, and extruded products, when fortified with other protein-rich flours. It is reported that banana powder obtained through freeze drying process retains maximum 3-methylbutanoic acid 3methylbutyl ester, 3-methylbutyl acetate and butanoic acid 3-methylbutyl ester that are responsible for the fruity aroma eugenol and elemicin which give the product its typical mellow aromas, as compared to vacuum-belt and air-drying (Wang et al. 2007b). Mohamed et al. (2010) had prepared yeast-leavened banana bread, which was as good as the control sample when loaf volume was considered and the bread was low in carbohydrate content, high in potassium and fibre content than the normal bread. This bread can be recommended for pregnant and breast feeding women as well as children and adults. Jam and Jelly from Banana Pectin Ripe banana contains significant amounts of pectin in peels (21.3%) and to a lesser extent in pulp as compared to plantains (Emaga et al. 2008). Bhaskaracharya et al. (2009) have used ultrasonication method for extraction of pectin