Optimization of banana crop by-products solvent extraction for the production of bioactive compounds

What if banana waste could be turned into a treasure trove of health-boosting compounds? Scientists have found a green way to extract antioxidants from banana crop leftovers, and the results are surprisingly juicy.

Banana crops leave behind a lot of waste—rachis, discarded fruit, and pseudostem pulp—but these by-products are far from useless. Researchers set out to optimize the extraction of phenolic compounds, the bioactive molecules known for their antioxidant power, using a green solvent: aqueous ethanol. They varied temperature and ethanol concentration, and found that 78°C with around 50% ethanol gave the best results across all three materials. The response surface methodology produced equations that fit the data well, allowing precise optimization. Time, however, had little effect on the extraction, which is good news for efficiency.

Among the three by-products, rachis extracts stood out, boasting the highest total phenol content (796 mg gallic acid per 100 g of dried material) and antioxidant activity (6.51 mg Trolox equivalents per gram) under conditions of 60% ethanol, 78°C, and 30 minutes. But when scaling up, discarded banana took the crown for activity, yielding 54.59 mg Trolox equivalents per gram of extract, even though rachis had the highest extraction yield (26%).

This work shows that banana waste can be valorized through a simple, economical, and eco-friendly process, turning agricultural leftovers into a source of polyphenolic compounds with potential health benefits. It's a win-win for sustainability and science.

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