Musa paradisiaca - A Review on Traditional uses and Pharmacological Activities

Introduction

Musa paradisiaca is fabricated in the tropical and subtropical areas over the world. Mostly named as banana which isa species of Musa genre. The Musa paradisiaca fruit possesses high levels of nutritional content like potassium, phosphorus, calcium, nitrogen, iron, and vitamin C and E. Various elements of Musa paradisiaca have been used in ancient medicine and also diverse biotic actions have been documented.¹

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae

Subkingdom: Tracheobionta

Super division: Spermatophyta

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Liliopsida

Subclass: Zingiberidae

Order: Zingiberales

Family:Musaceae

Genus: Musa

Species: paradisiaca

Traditional Uses

The whole fraction of the banana plant havebeenused historically. The flowers are applicable in treating bronchitis, dysentery, menorrhagia, and ulcers.² Processed flowers are used to manage diabetes. The astringent plant sap is given for managing hysteria, epilepsy, leprosy, fevers, haemorrhages, dysentery, and diarrhoea. Tender leaves is helpful as dressing on burns and other skin disorders. The astringent residue of the immature peel and the leaves are helpful in dysentery, diarrhoea, and also an advantage for controlling malignant ulcers. The roots can be given specifically in digestive diseases and it also has anthelmintic actions.³ Several advantages like antifungal and antibiotic actions are linked in the peel and pulp of fully developed bananas. This flora also has the activity against inflammation and pain.

Pharmacological Activities

Antilithiatic activity

Countless Indian plants have been perceivedto be helpful as antilithiatic agents. They are vigorous andbudgetable. One such plant is Musa paradisiaca. Kalpana Devi et al., observed the consequences of Musa paradisiaca stemkernel juice in experimental urolithiatic rats. The tincture was given through oral route at a dosage of 1.5mL/rat/day. Stone forming rats showed increase in the activities of two oxalate synthesizing enzymes - Glycolic acid oxidase and Lactate dehydrogenase. Accumulation and expulsion of stone forming elements in kidney and urine became greater in these rats. The enzyme activities and the level of crystalline constituents were diminishedwith the tincture after therapy. No considerable changes were found with leucineamino peptidase activity in treated rats.⁴

Gopakumara Pillai et al.,discovered the pseudo stem of Musa paradisiacathat is used in the management of urinary stones. Seventy one patients admitted to be agonised from urolithiasis were worked with juice of the core of the pseudo stem of Musa paradisiaca. An important part of them moved out after ingest the drug for two weeks. Continuation of stone formation was also diminished by the therapy. The effect of the study specifiesthat the plant material is totally capable in healing urolithiasis, principally the calcium oxalate stones.⁵

Antioxidant activity

Methanol extracts of banana flowers have inhibitor actions and thereby stabilize the free radicals fashioned as a result of varied metabolic processes within the body. If the free radicals don't seem to be neutral, their unstable electrons react with the polymer and proteins of human cells and alter their properties. This may cause many chronic conditions, as well as cancer and cardiovascular disease. Therefore banana flower extract is very helpful in the preparation of antioxidant supplements to inhibit oxidation in humans. So Loganayaki et al., proven the inhibitor result of banana.⁶

Antibacterial activity

Karadi et al., performed the in vitro antimicrobial outcome of crude extract of plantain tree and Cocosnucifera on microorganism Escherichia coli, Staph aureus, Grass bacillus, Genus Pseudomonas aeruginosa and also the fungiMoniliaalbicans, fungus tropicalis, andgenus Aspergillus niger. The agar disc diffusion technique was helped to confirm the despotic outcome of each of the extracts of plants. All the plant tincture exhibit despotic outcome onorganisms. The tincture of plantain tree generate broad section of inhibition against Moniliaalbicansthan the crude extract of palm.⁷

Mumtaz Jahan et al., described that the ethanol-based tincture of banana flowers inhibit the development of unhealthful microorganisms like grass bacillus, eubacteria genus Cereus, and Escherichia coli within the laboratory and make possible to heal wounds and prevent illness.⁸

Antidiabetic activity

Sanjeev Kumar et al., performed the activities of Methanolic extracts of full grownunpractised fruit of plantain tree in conventional and Streptozocin dosed diabetic mice with chlorpropamide as therapeutic agent. MEMP (100-800 mg/kg, p.o.) showed major dose connected (p<0.05 – 0.001) depletion within the glucose concentration in conventional and diabetic mice. Chlorpropamide (250 mg/kg p.o.) collaboratively made principal (p<0.01 and p<0.001) reduction within the glucose concentration in conventional and diabetic mice.⁹

Antiulcer activity

Surbhi Gupta et al., described the antiulcer activity. Tincture of plantain banana tree was performed on the growth of eicosanoids in incubates of human viscous and colonic membrane. The plant fruit tincture gives rise to antagonist activity within the eicosanoid however the water extract was unsuccessful. Methanolic extracts of plantain banana pulp was assessed for its anti-ulcer and inhibitor action in two hour cold restraint stress and anti H. pylori activity in vitro. The extract (50mg/kg doubly daily for five days) exhibited vital antiulcer effect and inhibitor activity in sticky membrane homogenates wherever it driven back the rise in ulceration index, supermolecule per oxidization and enzyme values produced by stress.¹⁰

Antidiarrheal activity

Sampath Kumar et al., performed the antidiarrheal activity. The banana cellulose (a soluble polymer) will make smoother and cease constipation. However, consumption of banana could be an advantage in individuals hurting from symptom. In a study, thirty one patients with symptom were randomised to receive either banana flakes or medical treatment for illness. The investigators observed that the banana flake cluster had fewer symptoms clinically; with fifty seven of the topics were diarrhoea free on their last study day in differentiation to pure gold of the medically treated subjects.¹¹ This study shows the disease curing activity of plantain tree.

Hypocholesterolaemic activity

Vijayakumar et al.,found the hypocholesterolaemic activity of plantain tree. In a study of male rats on a diet containing lard (50 g/kg) and cholesterin (5 g/kg), freeze-dried banana pulp exhibits a notable cholesterol-decreasing outcome once incorporated into a diet at the amount of three hundred or five hundred g/kg, whereas the fresh air dried banana pulp didn't exhibit the outcome. Flavonoids separated fromunmaturedfruits exhibited hypolipidemicactivity confirmed by lowering in cholesterin, triglycerides, free fatty acids, and phospholipids levels in liquid body substance, liver, urinary organ, and brain of rats. The cholesterin decreasing outcome was accredited to a better degradation rate of cholesterinthan formation.¹²

Hepatoprotective activity

Sanjeev Kumar et al., assessed the hepatoprotective activity of plantain tree. To inspect thehepatoprotective activity of stem of plantain tree in CCl4 and paracetamol induced hepatotoxicity representation in rats, the binary compound and alcoholic tincture was used. Giving hepatotoxins (CCl4 and paracetamol) showed vital organic and microscopic anatomy worsening within the liver of experimental animals. Initial treatment with alcoholic extract (500 mg/kg)more preferably and to a lesser extent the alcoholic extract (250 mg/kg) and binary compound extract (500 mg/kg), lowered the upraised levels of the enzymes like serum glutamic-oxaloacetic aminotransferase (SGOT), liquid body substance glutamic pyruvic aminotransferase (SGPT), alkaline enzyme (ALP) and animal pigment levels, in addition to that the alcoholic and binary compound tincture driven back the wound towards the conventional, which issues the evidence of hepatoprotective activity of stem of Musa paradisiaca.¹² 

Wound healing activity

Mokbel et al.,inspected the wound healing activity of plantain tree. The rats got quantity of (50-200 Kg/day) of binary compound and fuel extract of plantain tree orally for a total of 10-21 days depends upon the style of study. The tincture once deliberated for carving and dead house injury parameters enlarged wound breaking strength and levels of radical amino acid, hexuronic acid, hexosamine, enzyme, lowered glutathione within the granulation and remittent the piece of wound space, scar area. In differentiation with the management group the tinctureexhibited smart results.¹³

Antifungal activity

Outcome of plantain tree peel and stalk tincture were assessed by Okorondu et al., for confirming the antifungal action. Total hindrance of growth (100%) was ascertained for genus Aspergillus niger, genus Aspergillus oryzae, and Rhizopusstolonifer at 1.0 mg/mL concentration of stalk tincture. Peel extract vanished A. niger 100%, A.oryzae 76.67%, and R. stolonifer56.67% at an identical strength. As strength lowers, growth hindrance lowers in addition up to the lower despotic strength. The outcome gives reason that the plant tincture wasset to diminish and destroy the expansion of spoilage fungi and this indicates that thetincture in tolerable doses is employed in food protection and to cure illness caused by this spoilage fungi. The outcome further givesthe reasons that the plantain tree stalk and peel tincture is having antifungal action.⁹

Conclusion

Medicinal plants have attracted significant world interest in past years. Banana tree could be a healthful plant with numerous pharmacological properties. The leading pharmacological outcome of this plant are antilithiatic, antioxidant, antibacterial, antidiabetic,antiulcer,antidiarrheal, hypocholesterolaemic, hepatoprotective, antisnakevenom, wound healing, hair growth promoting, antifungal, and antimenorrhagic actions. Because of the therapeutic effect, there is a vast range of future research on Musa paradisiaca. It is of significant value to bring out advanced research to find out the unexploited future of this banana plant for the invention of secure drugs.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.