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An edible fruit.
Botanically a berry produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa.
In some countries, bananas used for cooking are called plantains.
The fruit is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe.
The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant.
Almost all modern edible seedless bananas come from two wild species: Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana.
Bananas are grown in 135 countries.
Bananas are grown for their fruit, to make fiber, banana wine, and banana beer and as ornamental plants.
The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant.
Individual banana averages 125 grams (0.276 lb), of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter.
The seeds are diminished nearly to non-existence; their remnants are tiny black specks in the interior of the fruit.
Bananas emit radioactivity at very low levels occurring naturally from potassium-40.
A natural, small amount of K-40 radiation occurs in every human and in common foods.
Green bananas have significant resistant starch.
The K-40 in a banana contains about 15 becquerels or 0.1 micro-sieverts, the
unit of radioactivity exposure.
The radiation exposure from consuming one banana is approximately 1% of the average daily exposure to radiation, or about 50 times less than a typical x-ray in a dental exam and 400 times less than taking a commercial flight across the United States.
Bananas can be divided into dessert bananas and cooking bananas, with plantains being one of the subgroups of cooking bananas.
Bananas are picked green, and ripen in special rooms.
These rooms are air-tight and contain ethylene gas to induce ripening.
The yellow color associated with supermarket bananas is caused by an artificial ripening process.
Bananas are refrigerated to between 13.5 and 15 °C during transport.
At lower temperatures, ripening permanently stalls.
The skin of ripe bananas quickly blackens in the 4 °C environment of a domestic refrigerator, although the fruit inside remains unaffected.
To prevent the bananas from producing their natural ripening agent, ethylene, storage and transport for 3–4 weeks at 13 °C
Ripe bananas can be held for a few days at home.
Putting bananas in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato overnight can speed up the ripening process.
Carbon dioxide and ethylene absorbents extend fruit life.
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 371 kJ (89 kcal)
Carbohydrates 22.84 g
Sugars 12.23 g
Dietary fiber 2.6 g
Fat 0.33 g
Protein 1.09 g
Vitamins Quantity %DV†
Thiamine (B1) 3% 0.031 mg
Riboflavin (B2) 6% 0.073 mg
Niacin (B3) 4% 0.665 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5) 7% 0.334 mg
Vitamin B6 31% 0.4 mg
Folate (B9) 5% 20 μg
Choline 2% 9.8 mg
Vitamin C 10% 8.7 mg
Minerals Quantity %DV\
Iron 2% 0.26 mg
Magnesium 8% 27 mg
Manganese 13% 0.27 mg
Phosphorus 3% 22 mg
Potassium 8% 358 mg
Sodium 0% 1 mg
Zinc 2% 0.15 mg
Water 74.91 g
Raw bananas are 75% water, 23% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contain negligible fat.
A 100-gram serving supplies
89 Calories
31% of the US recommended Daily Value (DV) of vitamin B6.
Moderate amounts of vitamin C, manganese and dietary fiber, with no other micronutrients in significant content.
Bananas have have only 8% of the US recommended Daily Value for potassium.
Its potassium-content ranking among fruits, vegetables, legumes, and many other foods is relatively moderate.
Vegetables with higher potassium content than raw dessert bananas (358 mg per 100 gm) include raw spinach (558 mg per 100 gm), baked potatoes without skin (391 mg per 100 gm), cooked soybeans (539 mg per 100 gm), grilled portabella mushrooms (437 mg per 100 gm), and processed tomato sauces (413–439 mg per 100 gm).
Individuals with a latex allergy may experience a reaction to bananas.
Bananas are a staple starch for many tropical populations.
The primary component of the aroma of fresh bananas is isoamyl acetate.
This banana oil, which, along with butyl acetate and isobutyl acetate, is a significant contributor to banana flavor.
During ripening, bananas produce the gas ethylene, which acts as a plant hormone and indirectly affects the flavor.
Ethylene stimulates the formation of the enzyme amylase, breaks down starch into sugar, influencing the taste of bananas.
The greener, less ripe bananas contain higher levels of starch and a taste of starch.
Yellow bananas taste sweeter due to higher sugar concentrations.
Ethylene signals the production of pectinase, an enzyme which breaks down the pectin between the cells of the banana, causing the banana to soften as it ripens.
Headaches that occur after eating a lot of bananas, may be related tyramine, derived from the amino acid tyrosine.
Overconsumption of bananas could increase risk for hyperkalemia, and
can contribute to tooth decay because of high sugar content.
The world’s banana harvest comes from large-scale monoculture farming operations, which over a long period depletes the soil.
Bananas are often sprayed with large amounts of pesticides.
Organic banana farming avoids the use of synthetic pesticides and tends to be more sustainable.