Food science study: Flour made from plantain peels a great source of dietary fiber

A study published in CyTA – Journal of Food reported that plantain (Musa paradisiaca L.) peels are rich in dietary fiber. According to the authors, flour can be produced using plantain peel and this flour can be a great source of dietary fiber.

• To obtain the plantain flour, researchers used the peel from plantains (Musa paradisiaca L.). The peel comes from a process called starch isolation, which only requires the pulp of the fruit to produce dry flour.
• Once the plantain peel flour was produced, the researchers set out to determine various factors such as its antioxidant capacity, chemical composition, the composition of the dietary fiber, functional properties, and polyphenol content.
• Based on the data obtained by the team of researchers, the plantain peel flour had considerably high levels of ash, protein, total dietary fiber (TDF), and total starch.
• In the study, dietary fiber’s main component was the insoluble fraction that had a higher level of cellulose compared to hemicellulose and lignin.
• While extractable polyphenols were found in the lowest amount, it had the highest antioxidant capacity.
• As the temperature of the test increased, both water- and oil-holding capacity values also increased.
• Since it was determined that the plantain peel flour had a high dietary fiber content, high antioxidant capacity, and functional characteristics, the flour can be a promising substitute as an ingredient for various food products.

Based on the study findings, the dietary fiber-rich plantain peel flour can be used to make functional foods that offer various health benefits.

Find the full text of study at this link.

Learn more about other findings on nutritious plantains at Research.news.

Journal reference

Agama-Acevedo E, Sañudo-Barajas J, Rocha RVDL, González-Aguilar G, Bello-Peréz L. POTENTIAL OF PLANTAIN PEELS FLOUR (MUSA PARADISIACAL.) AS A SOURCE OF DIETARY FIBER AND ANTIOXIDANT COMPOUND. CyTA – Journal of Food. 2015, 14:1; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19476337.2015.1055306