ABSTRACT

Banana is the world’s most important fresh fruit commodity in terms of volume of trade. The global banana industry started in the late 1800s as a result of technological advances like refrigerated shipping and is now more than a century old. Bananas contain high amounts of essential vitamins A1, B1, B2, and C; minerals such as potassium; and substantial quantities of starch and hemicelluloses. Bananas are regarded as nature’s secret of perpetual youth in the practice of traditional medicine in India, China, and ancient Persia. Inhalation of the smoke from burning banana leaves is used to relieve wheezing in asthmatic patients. Tender leaves smeared with oil are used for dressing of wounds and blistered skin surfaces. Suggestions of banana fruits in the contemporary diet in Ramayana perhaps indicate the domesticated status of banana in the Indian subcontinent. Banana and plantain are ancient fruits domesticated by man to become an important commodity in terms of trade.