 | Banana peduncle turns into valuable products |
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balita.ph; January 10, 2014 12:05 am MANILA, Jan. 9 (PNA) — Initially underutilized and left to waste, the banana peduncle is now considered as an agricultural innovation with various potentials that can significantly improve farming, health, and income, a report from the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) revealed Thursday. Dr. Mary Ann Tavanlar, researcher from the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) that is based at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, said various value-added products could be made utilizing the fiber and juice found in the banana peduncle. “The peduncle, which holds the banana bunch, is mainly composed of fiber and juice. Various products were developed from this lowly material using readily available equipment and simple technologies,” she said. These include paper products, dietary fiber, calcium and potassium fortified sports drinks and fertilizer products among others, Tavanlar said. She noted that the Philippines generate approximately 2.3 million metric tons of banana peduncle a year which were mainly utilized as compost or just put to waste. “Instead of being left to rot in the field, the peduncle can now be utilized and thereby can generate additional income to small-holder farmers,” Tavanlar said. Solving the issue of transforming waste banana peduncle into useful value-added products was the result of a BAR-funded research project – titled, “Banana Peduncle: To Waste or Not To Waste” –that was spearheaded by Tavanlar. It was implemented by BIOTECH in collaboration with Unifrutti Corporation, Forest Products Research and Development Institute-Department of Science and Technology (FPRDI-DOST), and Fiber Industry Development Authority-Department of Agriculture (FIDA-DA). In the terminal report submitted by the project proponents, among the use of the fiber is to utilize it as pulp to make paper products and composite fiber boards including resin-bonded and cement-bonded peduncle boards. Subsequent testing of the resultant products for their endurance, elasticity, and absorption have yielded encouraging results, the report stated. The fiber was also processed into powdered banana peduncle (PBP) as a source of dietary fiber to make peduncle fiber-enriched meat products such as burgers, frankfurters, and re-structured ham. As a result, these meat products have higher fiber content, better moisture retention, and higher cooking yields than the meat products without PBP. Also, the production cost of meat products fortified with PBP is lower than that of the meat products without PBP due to the lesser amount of meat in the formulation. Meanwhile, the juice was utilized in the preparation of a ready-to-drink calamansi juice fortified with potassium and sodium. Most commercial sports drinks contain potassium and sodium to prevent dehydration and to maintain electrolyte levels. From research made by the proponents, it was found that samples of sports drinks in the market contain sodium and potassium ranging fom 24.8 to 48.3 mg/100 mL and 11.7 to 19.5 mg/100 mL, respectively. In comparison, pure peduncle juice contained up to 455.2 and 425.8 mg/100 mL sodium and potassium levels, respectively. The said calcium and potassium levels were about 30 times higher than in the commercial sports drinks, the project report said. The peduncle juice can also be used as a potassium supplement fertilizer in hydroponics – the method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water without soil – that can improve the quality of salad vegetables such as lettuce, chives, and arugula. It was also found to be an effective liquid potassium fertilizer in banana and other high value commodities such as pechay, kale, parsley, carrots, okra, eggplant, and tomato. By [Cielito M. Reganit (PNA) FPV/CMR] |
