M. Sabu

Prem Jose Vazhacharickal

Sajeshkumar N.K

Jiby John Mathew

P. E. Sreejith

Ninu Maria James

Banana is an important fruit grown and consumed in tropics and sub tropic regions. It is the edible fruit usually seedless which can be grown in any climatic condition. It is rich in carbohydrates, fat, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. A comparative study between 10 different Musa sp. in Kerala was conducted to study the various morphological characteristics. Each of the banana plant differ from each other on the basics of its height, length, colour, pseudostem, leaf, flower bud and fruit. The nutritional components such as moisture, crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract and total ash of pseudostem and leaf of selected varieties of Musa were analysed. For this pseudostem and leaf of 4 different varieties were selected and tested. The test was based on the AOAC method. The result shows that the crude fibre content of pseudostem and leaf is high with certain nutritive value.

Morphological characterization and nutritional analysis (leaf and pseudostem) of selected banana varieties in Kerala: an overview

Eldho Mathews Boby 

P. E Sreejth

Banana is one of the most common and widely used food all over the universe from ancient time. In this work mainly the nutrition analysis of various commonly cultivated banana varieties in Kerala has been used such as Najalipoovan, Poovan, Etha, Palenkodan, Robesta, Chemkadali, Pachakadhali, Sundari and Kannan. The peel contain about 40% of weight of banana fruit it's nutrition analysis is been also done to analyse various contents of significance. Further there is chance of occurrence of nutrients in peel since banana fruit is rich in various nutrients. And the peel of banana ,a biomass just discarded into nature can thus be converted to various value added products like drugs, soaps, animal feed etc. It is been observed that these peel is source of various natural antioxidants, dietary fibre, crude fat and crude protein. On analysis Pachakadali fruit has highest moisture content and moisture content of peel is highest for Etha. Crude protein content of fruit and peel is highest for Kannan. Crude fibre content of fruit is highest for Kannan and crude protein content of peel is highest for Sundari. Ether extract in fruit and peel is highest for Kannan. Total ash content of fruit is highest for Kannan and ash content of peel is more for Pachakadali. Gross energy of fruit is highest in case of Najalipoovan fruit and gross energy of peel is highest for Robesta. On comparing these varieties on the basis of test result Kannan is the most superior variety on the basis of nutritional quality. Further on analysing test results it has been found that the peel has superior nutrient and moisture content. So from the analysis it is revealed that one of the most useful part of a banana is it's peel. By the above analysis one can easily understand importance of many varieties of banana and further detailed researches can extend the scope of study.

Characterization and nutritional analysis of commonly cultivated banana varieties in Kerala: an overview

Asish Issac Mathew

Solid state fermentation holds tremendous potentials for the production of the enzyme amylase by Aspergillus niger. Different solid substrates like banana pseudo-stem and leaf vein are rich in starch. These agro-industrial residues are cheap raw materials for amylase production. Aspergillus niger isolated from the bread was identified to be the best producer of amylase. When A. niger was incubated for 10 days at 37°C on pseudo-stem and leaf vein of locally available banana varieties like Ethan, Poovan, Palayamkodan and Kaali, as substrate in solid state fermentation. It showed high yield of amylase in Ethan leaf vein, followed by Palayankodan vein. All other substrate also showed moderate amount of amylase production.

Comparative study using banana pseudostem and leaf vein as substrates for amylase production using Aspergillus niger in Kerala: an overview

Banana one of the most popular consumed fruits in the tropical and sub-tropical region. Most of the edible bananas present now a days are derived solely from Musa accuminata Colla or Musa balbisiana Colla or a hybrid between the two wild diploid species. The main objective of this research work is to provide an overview of various pest and diseases affecting Banana in South India. Diseases and pests of edible banana became problems when certain genotypes were grown as monocultures. Fusarium wilt and Sigatoka leaf spot were also affect the banana production in South-India. Bacterial wilt and Xanthomonas wilt are other bacterial diseases affecting the banana production. Bunchy top and bract mosaic are damaging virus diseases, which have a limited distribution at present. Virus diseases mosaic and streak are less damaging, but more widespread. Pre- and post-harvest diseases of fruit also cause losses. The burrowing nematode is the most important root parasite of banana, and the most damaging banana insect pest is the rhizome-attacking banana weevil. Genetic engineering and other biotechnology-based approaches could produce better diseases tolerant varieties. Chemical control has been employed successfully in the past to counter pests and pathogens, but resistance to fungicides and pesticides is becoming a major issue. Biological control methods are being employed more often in integrated pest management programmes could offer a promising result to address this issue.

Common pest and diseases affecting Banana in South-India: an overview

Twinkle Jose

Scientific Study from the year 2016 in the subject Chemistry - Bio-chemistry, grade: 1.5, Mar Augusthinose College, language: English, abstract: Amylase is an enzyme which catalyzes the hydrolysis of α (1, 4)-glycosidic linkages in amylose (a linear form of starch), amylopectin (a branched form of starch) and glycogen into simpler carbohydrate molecules such as oligosaccharides or disaccharides. Alpha-amylase is the major form of amylase found in human, most prominently in pancreatic juice and saliva. The salivary amylase is an amylolytic enzyme, which can acts on cooked or boiled starch and converts it in to maltose. So it became interesting to study the behaviour of salivary amylase, when it is secreted as result of different stimuli. And thus began to study the effect of five different stimulatory temperatures, and also the effect of four tastes on the behaviour of salivary amylase. For the study of stimulatory effect of temperature on salivary amylase, five different temperatures are selected (4, 27, 37, 55 and 75°C). And likewise four tastes also selected (sweet, sour, salt and bitter). The DNS method was done in the both tests to obtain the absorbance at 520 nm. The samples were collected from three people, of same age. The saliva was collected at same time, after one and a half hour of their breakfast in order to maintain a controlled condition for this study. In each cases the incubation temperature also kept as variable (4, 27, 37, 55 and 75°C). This study was also aimed to determine the behaviour of salivary amylase with reference to the kinetic parameters like Km and Vmax of salivary alpha amylase by incubating the enzyme (stimulated by different stimulatory conditions of temperature and taste) with varying concentration of substrate. The study revealed the consistency in kinetic parameters like Km and Vmax of salivary alpha amylase secreted in response to various stimuli.

Behaviour of Salivary Amylase in Various Reaction Environments with Reference to Km and Vmax. An Overview

Annie Babu

Scientific Study from the year 2017 in the subject Chemistry - Bio-chemistry, grade: 1.5, Mar Augusthinose College, course: Biotechnology, language: English, abstract: Diabetes mellitus is a clinical metabolic syndrome, which has been resulted from the malfunction or insufficiency of insulin production. Diabetes is the major threat to the people in developing and developed country. Prolonged diabetic condition can affect organs and synthetic drug if consumed by the patient can cause side-effects and impaired immune system. The synthetic medicine used for the treatment of diabetes is usually costlier, create side-effects and do not ensure complete recovery from the disorder but on the other hand, medicinal plants create a great impact in the human immune system. The medicinal plant produces a variety of chemical substances which shows significant therapeutic properties. This study highlights the potential anti-diabetic significance and phytochemical activity of different varieties Piper nigrum (Black pepper) and different strategies used for the assessment of these activities. The piperaceae family consist of 12 genera and more than 1400 species and is one of the largest families and widely distributed across the tropical and sub-tropical regions and over the high ranges of Andes and Sub Himalayas. Piper species naturally have multi-dimensional affect on various parts of the body often mentioned as antipyretic, diuretic, aphrodisiac, immune- stimulant and antioxidant, hepatoprotective, digestive, antiseptic and anti-diabetic. Phytochemical analysis of Methanol and Petroleum -ether extracts was carried out and different plant parts were collected from different districts across Kerala. Phytochemical which is identified from Piper nigrum present an exciting opportunity for the development of new type of therapeutics for diabetes mellitus. Some anti-diabetic plants exert their action by stimulating the function or number of beta cells and thus increasing insulin production with least side effects. Further investigations are required and more attention should be drawn to explore the biological activity of hundreds of traditionally used plants. Both in-vivo and in-vitro assessment is necessary for the assessment of anti-diabetic properties from the natural resources.

An overview

Phytochemical and anti-diabetic activities of different plant part extracts among black pepper (Piper nigrum) varieties in comparison with Piper longum and Piper betel

Sajeshkumar N.K

Books

Your next favorite book is out there