Banana Peel: A Nutritional Powerhouse with Many Uses

Abstract

A banana is a natural fibre with several medicinal uses. Banana peels contain various bioactive substances, including antioxidants, antimicrobials, and anticancer agents. Several secondary metabolites that have therapeutic efficacy are found, including phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, and saponins. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to identify the inhibitory zone and examine the antimicrobial test of 80% ethanol leaf extract of several banana peel species. The extract is produced using the Soxhlet extraction method, and the inhibitory zone is ascertained using the agar disc diffusion method. When tested at concentrations of 2.86 g/ml and 3.33 g/ml, respectively, the inhibition zone width of the ethanol extract of Musa acuminata and Musa paradisiaca is comparable to that of clindamycin (p < 0.05). The minimal inhibitory concentration of ethanolic extract of Musa acuminata has been demonstrated by several strains, including S. aureus and E. coli, which have 3% Zone inhibition with a diameter of 9.00 mm and 10% Zone inhibition with a diameter of 6.50 mm, respectively. The methanol extract of Musa acuminata has a minimum bactericidal concentration of 4% with a diameter of 1000 mm and 15% with a diameter of 700 mm when tested against strains such as S. aureus and E. coli. Using distinct extracts, our results clearly demonstrate the antibacterial activity of Musa acuminata and Musa paradisiaca. We thus draw the conclusion that banana peels have advantageous antibacterial, anticancer, antioxidant, and antiulcerogenic qualities.