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An overview of Musa paradisiaca Linn.
Full Paper
Vijai Lakshmi*, Santosh Kumar Agarwal, Abbas Ali Mahdi
Department of Biochemistry, King George Medical University, Lucknow-226003, (INDIA)
E-mail: vijlakshmius@yahoo.com
Musa paradisiacal;
Musaceae,chemical
constituents and biological
activities.
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
As the people are becoming aware of the potency and side effect of syn-
thetic drugs, there is an increasing interest in the natural product rem-
edies with a basic approach towards the nature all over the world. Many
infectious diseases have been treated with herbals throughout the history
of mankind. Medicinal plants play a vital role for the development of new
drugs. It is estimated that about eighty percent of the world’s population
residing in the vast rural areas of the developing and under developed
countries, still rely mainly on medicinal plants. Medicinal plants are the
only affordable and accessible source of primary health care for them,
especially in the absence of access to modern medical facilities. In this
review literature on of Musa paradisiaca Linn. pharmacological activi-
ties as well as the chemical constituents have been summarised.
2015 Trade Science Inc. - INDIA
INTRODUCTION herb widely distributed in the tropics. M. paradisiaca
is still largely unexplored source for the develop-
ment of new drugs. Globally, about 85% of all medi-
cations for different diseases are derived from plants.
Hence, the aim of the present review on M.
paradisiaca is to collect all the work done on this
important plant in one place, to facilitate the re-
searchers to explore further on this plant.
It is a tall, robust herb, and the plant portion above
the ground is a false stem (pseudostem) consisting
of concentrically formed leaves, from the centre of
which develops the inflorescence stalk. The rhizome
or true stem is underground. Near the tip of the flower
stalk are several groups of sterile male flowers sub-
tended by brilliant purple bracts. The lower female
flower clusters on the same stalk and give rise to the
fruit.
The whole plant as well as specific parts (Flow-
ers, banana bracts, ripe, unripe fruits, leaves and
An Indian Journal
Volume 11 Issue 4
NPAIJ, 11(4), 2015 [105-109]
Natural Products
Natural Products
ISSN : 0974 - 7508
Musa paradisiaca L. (Family:Musaceae), com-
monly known as “plantain” is a perennial tree-like
id500359 pdfMachine by Broadgun Software - a great PDF writer! - a great PDF creator! - http://www.pdfmachine.com http://www.broadgun.com
.106 An overview of Musa paradisiaca Linn.
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NPAIJ, 11(4) 2015
An Indian Journal
Natural Products
Natural Products
stems) of plant extract and its active constituents have
been used for the treatment of large number of hu-
man ailments. Traditionally the plant has been used
for different purposes such as abscess, alopecia,
burns, cancer, cataplasm, diabetes, diarrhea, dog
bites, snake bite, dysentery, dyspepsia, fracture, gan-
grene, hematuria,emiplegia, hemoptysis, hemorrhage,
hypertension, lizard bites, marasmus, migrain, ring-
worm, shingles, smallpox, syphilis, tuberculosis,
tumor, uremia, otalgia, psoriasis, urticaria, warts and
wounds[1]. Similarly, the pulp has antiulcer, wound
healing, hair growth promoting, analgesic, antioxi-
dant property and hepatoprotective activities[2].
Despite these medicinal importance of M.
paradisiaca, it is usually cultivated for food. It is
consumed as an energy yielding food and desert.
Fruits are an important contribution to the diets of
many peoples. India is the largest producer of ba-
nana. The states of Maharashtra and Gujarat in West-
ern India, Karnataka in Southern India and Assam in
the northeast are large banana growers.
CHEMICAL CONSTIUTENTS
The whole plant as well as specific parts (Flow-
ers, banana bracts, ripe, unripe fruits, leaves and
stems) of plant extract and its active constituents have
been used for the treatment of large number of hu-
man ailments. Flower consists of tannins, saponins,
reducing and non reducing sugars, sterols and
triterpenes. The structure of new tetracyclic
triterpine isolated from the flowers of M.
Paradisiaca Linn was determined as (24R)-4á-14á,
24-trimethyl-5-cholesta-8, 25-dien-3â-ol[3]. The an-
thocyanins reported are 3-rutinoside derivatives of
dephinidin, pelargonidin, peonidine and malvidin[4].
Fruit consists of carbohydrates, amino acids, sugar
and starch. The skin of the fruit is rich in cellulose
(10%), hemicelluloses (7%). The pulp protein was
rich in arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic
acid,methionine and tryptophan[5]. A new bicyclic
diarylheptanoid,8-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-9-
methoxy-4a,5,6,10b-tetrahydro-3H naphthopyran as
well as four known compounds 1,2 dihydro 1,2,3
trihydroxy-9-(4-methoxy phenyl) phenalene 2-hy-
droxy anigorufone, 2-(4-hydroxy phenyl) naphthalic
anhydride and 1,7 bis(4-hydroxy phenyl) hepta-4,6-
diene-3-one were isolated from ethyl acetate soluble
fraction of the methanolic extract of fruits[6]. Peeled
fruits consist of two new acyl steryl glycosides
Sitoindoside-III and Sitosterol myo-inositylbeta-D-
glucoside[7]. Fruit pulp consists of three forms of á-
glucan phosphorylase[8]. Leaves having two forms
of starch phosphorylase were found in the mature
banana leaf[9].
PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES
The various effects of M. paradisiaca are docu-
mented in traditional as well as scientific literature.
The main pharmacologial effects of this plant are -
diuretic, analgesic, antiulcer, wound healing, anti-
oxidant, hypoglycemic activities mutagenic effects
in which few are reported.
Antiulcerogenic activity
In a study conducted to evaluate the effect of
orally administered banana pulp powder (0.5 mg/kg
orally twice aily for 3 days) in ulcers induced by
aspirin,indomethacin, phenylbutazone, prednisolone
and cysteamine in albino rats and histamine in guinea
pigs suggest that banana powder treatment not only
strengthens mucosal resistance against the ulcerogens
but also promotes healing by cellular proliferation[10].
In another study, albino rats fed with banana pulp
0.5 gm/kg orally twice daily for 3 days showed sig-
nificant increase in total carbohydrate content of gas-
tric mucosa, significant decrease in gastric juice and
protein and a significant increase in the total carbo-
hydrate and carbohydrate protein ratio of gastric
juice[11]. The active ingredient of banana responsible
for antiulcerogenic effect, identified to be
leucocyanidin, a flavonoid. The leucocyanidin at 5
mg/kg orally demonstrated a significant (p <0.05)
protective effect against aspirin induced erosions[12].
Antidiarrhoeal activity
A clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the
efficacy of a solution of 50 gm/L of plantain flour
and 3.5 gm/L of sodium chloride for rehydration of
children with acute diarrhoeal disease. The plan-
tain flour based solution proved effective for the
treatment of dehydration due to acute diarrhoeal dis-
Vijai Lakshmi et al. 107
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NPAIJ, 11(4) 2015
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Natural Products
eases[13].
Antimicrobial activity
In a study conducted to evaluate the in–vitro an-
timicrobial activity of the root extracts of plantain
banana, it was found that the benzene extract showed
significant bactericidal and fungicidal effect. The
hexane extract showed significant activity against
gram negative bacteria[14]. In one study banana showed
activity against E. coli and S. aureus[15].
Wound healing activity
The wound healing activity of both methanolic
and aqueous extract of plantain banana in rats was
studied and both extracts were found to increase
hydroxyproline,hexuronic acid, hexosamine and su-
peroxide dismutase as well the wound breaking
strength and reduced glutathione level. They also
decreased the wound area, scar area and lipid
peroxidation. The effects were attributed to the an-
tioxidant property of the plantain[16].
Hepatoprotective activity
The hepatoprotective activity of stem of M.
paradisiaca in CCl4 model showed significant bio-
chemical and histological deteriorations in the liver
of experimental animals. Pretreatment with alcoholic
extract (500mg/kg) more significantly and to a lesser
extent the alcoholic extract (250 mg/kg) and aque-
ous extract (500 mg/kg), reduced the elevated lev-
els of the serum enzymes like serum glutamic-
oxaloacetictransaminase (SGOT), Serum glutamic
pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), Alkaline phosphatase
(ALP) and bilirubin levels, Also the alcoholic and
aqueous extracts reversed the hepatic damage to-
wards the normal, which gives the evidence of
hepatoprotective activity of stem of M. paradisia-
cal[17].
Mutagenic effect
Mutagenic effect of the M. paradisiaca fruit peel
extract was assessed by the single-cell gel electro-
phoresis (SCGE) and micronucleus assays. Periph-
eral blood cells of Swiss mice were collected 24 h
after treatment for the SCGE assay and 48 and 72 h
for the micronucleus test after feeding the extract in
three different concentrations (1000, 1500 and 2000
mg/kg Body Weight). It was concluded that the two
higher doses of the extract of M. paradisiaca in-
duced significant increases in the average numbers
of DNA damage in peripheral blood leukocytes for
the two higher doses and a significant increase in
the mean of micronucleated polychromatic Erythro-
cytes in the three doses tested[17].
Vasodilatory activity
The effect of aqueous extract of plantain on the
contractile response of rats’ aorta and portal veins
was studied. It was observed that the extract pro-
duced relaxation of the contracted aorticrings, in-
duced by noradrenaline and potassium chloride and
completely abolished the spontaneous contraction of
the portal veins[18].
Hypoglycaemic activity
Following a study on rabbits, it was reported
that M.sapientum fruit showed significant
antihyperglycaemic activity. The results showed sig-
nificant decrease in the hyperglycaemic peak and/or
the area under the glucose tolerance curve[19].
Hypolipidemic activity
A study of the effect of dietary fiber from unripe
plantain banana on cholesterol metabolism revealed
that, albino rats fed natural detergent fiber (NDF)
from unripe plantain banana showed significantly
lower levels of cholesterol and triglyceride in se-
rum and tissues in both cholesterol diet and choles-
terol free diet groups, when compared to control rats
fed fiber free diet. Concentration of bile acids was
high in rats fed NDF in both groups. Absorption of
glucose and cholesterol in rabbits was significantly
lowered in presence of NDF from unripe banana[20].
Analgesic activity
The analgesic activity of aqueous extract of the
plant was evaluated using the hot plate method and
writhing test in mice. The hot plate method is useful
in detecting centrally acting analgesics whereas ace-
tic acid induced writhing method is useful to detect
peripheral analgesic effects. Acetic acid, which is
used as an inducer for writhing syndrome, causes
analgesia by liberation of endogenous substances,
which then excite the pain nerve endings. The fact
.108 An overview of Musa paradisiaca Linn.
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NPAIJ, 11(4) 2015
An Indian Journal
Natural Products
Natural Products
that aqueous extract of M. paradisiaca showed an-
algesic activity in both the models studied, indicate
that this effect could be due to the presence of two
components; one acting centrally and the other via
peripheral route from the above results, it can be
deduced that aqueous extract has shown dose de-
pendent activity. As the phytochemical screening has
shown the presence of carbohydrates, sterols, pro-
teins, flavonoids,alkaloids in aqueous extract of M.
paradisiaca leaves, its potent activity may be at-
tributed to the presence of these phytoconstituents[21].
Antioxidant property
The antioxidant behavior of the extracts was
evaluated by using the thiocyanate method, ß-caro-
tene bleaching method and 1, 1-diphenyl-2-
picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical elimination.
Antioxidant activity of water extracts was compa-
rable to those of synthetic antioxidants such as buty-
lated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene
and it shows a significantantioxidant property. The
antioxidant effects of crude extracts from green ba-
nana and yellow peel were investigated and the re-
sults indicated that the extract of green peel recorded
more significant activities than that of yellow peel
at other solvents extracts[17].
Diuretic activity
Ash of the peel of M.sapientum showed an in-
crease in urine volume and K as well as other elec-
trolyte excretion than normal saline in a study in rats.
Successive ethanolic extract also give this diuretic
effect[22].
Antihypertensive activity
The effect of plantains on deoxy-corticosterone
acetate (DOCA) induced elevation of mean arterial
blood pressure in albino rats has been studied. The
consumption of plantain diet by rats, previously
treated with DOCA lowered the mean arterial blood
pressure to control values. Also, no significant
change in the mean arterial blood pressure compared
to control was seen in the rats, which were adminis-
tered DOCA following a previous diet of plantain.
Chronic consumption of plantain is capable of low-
ering DOCA induced elevated mean arterial blood
22 pressure and also prevent the onset of DOCA
induced hypertension in the rats[23].
Anti-allergic activity
Ripe M.sapientum pulp water extract has been
reported to have significant anti-allergic activity on
antigen-induced degranulation in RBL-2H3 cells
with an IC 50 value of 13.5 ± 2.4[24].
CONCLUSIONS
The bioactive extract should be standardized on
the basis of active compounds. The bioactive ex-
tract should undergo safety studies. Almost, 70%
modern medicines in India are derived from natural
products. Medicinal plants play a central role not
only as traditional medicines but also as trade com-
modities, meeting the demand of distant markets. In-
dia has a very small share (1.6%) of this ever-grow-
ing global market. To compete with the growing
market,there is urgency to expeditiously utilize and
scientifically validate more medicinally useful
plants.
Conflict of interest: None
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