Comparative evaluation of five unpopular cooking type banana accessions for their proximate composition

Abstract

Banana (Musa spp.) is one of the most widely grown and consumed fruits in Sri Lanka. Cooking type bananas are starchy and are mostly consumed after cooking. Although Sri Lanka has a diverse range of cooking-type bananas, the information is scattered. Many cooking type bananas are not so popular among people. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate and compare the approximate composition of five unpopular cooking type banana accessions in Sri Lanka, namely; “Alumondan” (ABB), “Kannannoru” (AAB), “Diyamondan” (ABB), “Kithala” (ABB) and “Kadili” (ABB). The proximate composition (moisture, dry matter, crude protein, crude fat and crude ash contents) of the samples were determined according to the official AOAC methods. Results were generated from mean comparison using SAS statistical software (SAS Institute, 1999). All tested banana pulps possessed considerable amounts of moisture, dry matter, crude protein, crude fat and crude ash. The moisture content of the tested pulps was decreased as “Kithala” > “Kannannoru” > “Alumondan” > “Diyamondan” > “Kadili” and ranged between 59.83 ± 0.6 % and 72.22 ± 2.2 %. The dry matter content ranged between 27.78 ± 2.2 % and 40.17 ± 0.6 % and highest dry matter content was recorded in the pulp of “Kadili”. The highest crude ash content was reported in “Kithala” (4.50 ± 0.2 %) whereas the lowest crude ash content was recorded in “Alumondan” (3.25 ± 0.1%). There was no significant difference (P<0.05) between the ash contents of “Alumondan”, “Kadili” and “Kannannoru”. The crude fat contents of tested samples were ranged from 0.26 ± 0.13 % to 1.45 ± 0.17 %, while the crude protein contents varied from 3.03 ± 0.1 % to 5.71 ± 0.1%. The highest crude fat and protein contents were reported in the pulp of “Kannannoru”. The fat contents of “Kannannoru”, “Diyamondan” and “Kadili” were not significantly different. In conclusion, the results imply that the pulp of “Kannannoru” and “Kithala” are rich in nutrients compared to the other three unpopular cooking banana accessions. Hence, they could be popularized as a vegetable among people. Also, it could be suggested that all five accessions can be incorporated into the formulation of banana-based value-added products.