High-fibre banana powder offers health and wellness options

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A fibre-rich powder from banana powder could boost the fibre content and nutritional content of food, report researchers from Mexico and Venezuela. The research, published in the journal Food Chemistry, taps into the trend for development of ingredients with health and wellness functionality.

"Due to its high total dietary fibre and indigestible fraction contents the banana fibre-rich powder (BFRP) appears a promising ingredient for functional foods," wrote the authors, from the Centro de Desarrollo de Productos Bioticos del IPN and the Central University of Venezuela.

"Water- and oil-holding capacities of BFRP did not change with the temperature, an important characteristic during the processing of food products where this preparation may be added."

The researchers applied starch liquefaction to eliminate the high starch content present in the fruit and thereby produce a fibre-rich powder capable of being formulated in a variety of diverse functional foods.

Using commercial unripe (hard green) bananas, the liquefied slurry was then mixed with an alpha-amylase enzyme for three hours. After this time, the enzyme was inactivated, and the material centrifuged and dried to obtain the fibre-rich powder.

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