Banana Peel Antioxidant Essay

Banana should be considered to be a good source of natural antioxidant for foods and functional food source against cancer and heart disease (Someya et al., 2002). Bananas peel are a good supply of natural antioxidants, which include nutrients and beta carotene. It could help the pores and skin restore genuinely by the number of antioxidant contained in the peel. Natural antioxidants are usually phenolic compound that may happen in all part of a plant. They act as free radical terminators, metals chelators and single oxygen quenchers as they are multifunction.

Topopherols, flavonoids and phenolic acid are the common plant phenolic antioxidants. Antioxidants react as unfastened radical scavengers by using defensive the cellular from harm by

By using HPLC, the gallocatechin was separated from the banana peel extract, which showed strong antioxidant activity. Gallocatechin was more abundant in peel (158 mg/100 g dry wt.) than in pulp (29.6 mg/100 g dry wt.). The antioxidant activity of the banana peel extract, against lipid autoxidation, was higher than the banana pulp extract. The better antioxidant effects have the higher gallocetachin content. Antioxidants are rich in fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains, some meats and fish. Combination of vitamin C with other antioxidants, such as vitamin E, b-carotene, and selenium, provides a synergistic antihypertensive effect. Experimental evidences prove that antioxidants can shield human body from free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) effects. Antioxidants is substance that can avoid or slow the oxidative damage process toward our body. Besides, antioxidant also protect the cells from the damage that may cause by free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules or highly reactive chemical that often contains oxygen and being produced during oxidation. The defensive effect of natural antioxidant in fruit and vegetable are related to its major group, which are vitamin, phenolic and carotenoid. Ascorbic acid and phenolic and are known as the hydrophilic antioxidant while carotenoid was known as lipophilic antioxidant (Halliwell., 1996). Free radicals can damage important cellular molecules such as DNA or lipids or other parts of the cell and may lead to cancer. Banana peel also demonstrated the presence of various phenolic compounds such as gallocatechin and anthocyanins like peonidin and malvidin. Phenolic compounds were the secondary metabolites, which being associated with flavour and colour characteristics of the fruits and vegetables and gaining considerable attention because of their potent antioxidant and health promoting properties (Kaur & Kapoor,