• I S Arvanitoyannis and A Mavromatis.
• University of Thessaly, School of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Production and Aquatic Environment, Fytokou Str., 38446 Nea Ionia Magnesias, Volos, Greece. parmenion@uth.gr
• Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2009 Feb 1; 49 (2): 113-35.

AbstractThe physicochemical (pH, texture, Vitamin C, ash, fat, minerals) and sensory properties of banana were correlated with the genotype and growing conditions. Minerals in particular were shown to discriminate banana cultivars of different geographical origin quite accurately. Another issue relates to the beneficial properties of bananas both in terms of the high dietary fiber and antioxidant compounds, the latter being abundant in the peel. Therefore, banana can be further exploited for extracting several important components such as starch, and antioxidant compounds which can find industrial and pharmaceutical applications. Finally, the various storage methodologies were presented with an emphasis on Modified Atmosphere Packaging which appears to be one of the most promising of technologies.

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