Detection and Identification of the Polyphenoloxidase Substrate of the Banana

Letter Published: 04 July 1959 Detection and Identification of the Polyphenoloxidase Substrate of the Banana L. A. GRIFFITHS1  Nature volume 184, pages 58–59 (1959)Cite this article

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BLACKENING of the fruit of the banana may occur during cultivation, when the cause is usually of pathological origin, or during storage if ripening is not adequately controlled. The

biochemical changes involved in the blackening of the fruit have received little study, although evidence for the existence of an enzyme system in the fruit of the banana capable of

oxidizing substances of the catechol type was presented by Onslow1 in 1920. The existence of flavonoid compounds in the edible banana has been reported2,3. Robinson2 detected delphinidin in

the hydrolysis products of the pulp of an edible banana while Simmonds3, who has described the anthocyanin pigments of the bracts of a number of banana species in detail, reported that the

skin and pulp of fruit of the edible varieties contained large amounts of leucoanthocyanins. Indirect evidence was, however, obtained3 that the polyphenol oxidase system of the banana was

unable to act on the leucoanthocyanins present to produce brown colorations. Recently, the presence of serotonin and related compounds in the fruit of the banana was reported by Waalkes et

al.5. The ability of these compounds to serve as substrates for polyphenoloxidase was not, however, explored.

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vitro antioxidant capacity of wild and cultivated berries from Bosnia and Herzegovina Article Open access 28 September 2021 Comparison of bioactive compounds and health promoting properties

of fruits and leaves of apple, pear and quince Article Open access 12 October 2021 References Onslow, M. W., Biochem. J., 14, 541 (1920).

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Robinson, G. M., J. Chem. Soc., 1157 (1937).

Simmonds, N. W., Ann. Bot., N.S., 18, 471 (1954).

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Waalkes, T. P., Sjoerdsma, A., Creveling, C. R., Weissbach, H., and Udenfried, S., Science, 127, 648 (1958).

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Author informationAuthors and Affiliations Regional Research Centre, Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, Trinidad, British West Indies

L. A. GRIFFITHS

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About this articleCite this article GRIFFITHS, L. Detection and Identification of the Polyphenoloxidase Substrate of the Banana. Nature 184, 58–59 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/184058a0

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Issue Date: 04 July 1959

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/184058a0

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