The antiulcerative effect of Thai Musa species in rats

Bananas are reported to have an antipeptic ulcer effect, however, the beneficial action can be affected by many factors, including the variety. Our study was undertaken to investigate the antipeptic ulcer effect of the Palo and Horn varieties of banana, grown and consumed in the northeast of Thailand. Indomethacin and acetic acid-induced gastric lesions in rats were employed as models of peptic ulcer disease. The lengths of gastric lesions in the glandular part of the stomach were measured for the assessment of the protective effect of bananas. The healing effect was studied by histological examination of the ulcerated area. The lesions in rats treated with the extract of banana were significantly less dominant than those of the control. The average length of total lesions of rats treated with an extract of Palo or Horn bananas at a dose of 1.0 g/kg/d for 3 days prior to indomethacin administration were 4.47+/-1.2 and 1.87+/-0.44 mm, respectively, whereas those observed in the control rats were 14.56+/-2.43 mm. In the ulcer-healing model, only the Hom-banana-extract-treated group showed a beneficial effect which manifested as a milder degree of histological change than that of the indomethacin-induced-chronic-ulcer control group. However, in acetic acid-induced ulcers, the histological changes of every group were similar. The present findings indicate that bananas of different varieties have varying antipeptic ulcer effects. The extracts of Palo and Hom bananas have a prominent gastroprotective effect, whereas only the extract of Hom banana had an observed ulcer-healing effect. Copyright @ 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pesticide-related Illness and Injuries among Banana Workers in Costa Rica: A Comparison between 1993 and 1996

Abstract

An intervention program considerably decreased systemic poisonings on banana plantations in Costa Rica in the early 1990s. Nevertheless, pesticide safety continues to be controversial .To examine the determinants of acute pesticide related illness on banana plantations, the authors surveyed occupational injuries and illness among banana workers in the Atlantic Region of Costa. Rica that were reported during 1993 and 1996 to the National Insurance Institute. Incidence rates were calculated for categories of pesticides and types of medical problems, for all and subgroups of banana workers. Between 1993 and 1996, an overall 35% decrease in injuries was observed, attributable to a marked decline in topical injuries (3.3 vs 1.9 per 100 workers), whereas systemic poisonings remained the same (0.7 per 100 in both years). The decrease concerned selectively milder skin contlltioris, indicating underreporting of less severe health effects. In both years, paraquat was the pesticide most frequently associated with injuries, mostly skin and eye lesions. Workers at highest risk per unit time of exposure were nematocide applicators, herbicide applicators, and cleaners of packing plants. Despite control measures, further reduction of systemic illness had not been achieved. The decrease of topical injuries may be partly explained by improved work conditions, but possible underreporting hinders interpretation. Pesticide related illness on banana plantations is a persistent problem.     

香蕉皮多糖的降血糖效果研究

目的：研究香蕉皮多糖对糖尿病（DM）小鼠的降血糖作用。方法：四氧嘧啶溶液（200m g/kg w t）建立DM模型,不同剂量香蕉皮多糖连续给药14d,检测体重、血糖变化情况。结果：香蕉皮多糖能使DM小鼠血糖和体重维持在正常范围内。结论：香蕉皮多糖在DM降糖方面有很好的疗效。     

Organization of the polarization splay modulated smectic liquid crystal phase by topographic confinement

Recently, the topographic patterning of surfaces by lithography and nanoimprinting has emerged as a new and powerful tool for producing single structural domains of liquid crystals and other soft materials. Here the use of surface topography is extended to the organization of liquid crystals of bent-core molecules, soft materials that, on the one hand, exhibit a rich, exciting, and intensely studied array of novel phases, but that, on the other hand, have proved very difficult to align. Among the most notorious in this regard are the polarization splay modulated (B7) phases, in which the symmetry-required preference for ferroelectric polarization to be locally bouquet-like or "splayed" is expressed. Filling space with splay of a single sign requires defects and in the B7 splay is accommodated in the form of periodic splay stripes spaced by defects and coupled to smectic layer undulations. Upon cooling from the isotropic phase this structure grows via a first order transition in the form of an exotic array of twisted filaments and focal conic defects that are influenced very little by classic alignment methods. By contrast, growth under conditions of confinement in rectangular topographic channels is found to produce completely new growth morphology, generating highly ordered periodic layering patterns. The resulting macroscopic order will be of great use in further exploration of the physical properties of bent-core phases and offers a route for application of difficult-to-align soft materials as are encountered in organic electronic and optical applications.     

Influence of food intake on the enantiomeric composition of urinary salsolinol in man

Summary Salsolinol is present in human fluids and tissues as well as in foods and beverages. It was shown previously that the R enantiomer of salsolinol predominates in human urine, whereas the S enantiomer predominates in Port wine. An R/S ratio very near to 1 was found in dried banana, a food particularly rich in salsolinol.In this study 100 g of dried banana were administered to 6 healthy subjects. The urinary excretion of the R and S enantiomers of salsolinol was measured 24 h before and 24 h after banana intake, each time in two fractions. Whereas the S enantiomer was present only in the fraction 5 p.m.–9 a.m. and only in 3 out of the 6 subjects before banana intake, this enantiomer was found in the two intervals 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9 a.m. in all the subjects after banana intake. The presence of the S enantiomer in urine in 3 subjects before dried banana might be related to alcohol intake. The amount of R + S salsolinol eliminated in the 24 h urine was found to represent 0.75% of the total dose administered. In conclusion a normal diet should have a negligible influence on urinary salsolinol concentrations, with, perhaps, the exception of alcohol; interestingly the R enantiomer might represent endogenous salsolinol.     

Combinations of laxatives and green banana biomass on the treatment of functional constipation in children and adolescents: a randomized study

Objectives

Evaluate the effect of combinations of green banana biomass and laxatives in children and adolescents with chronic constipation.

Isolation and characterization of major banana allergens: identification as fruit class I chitinases

BACKGROUND: Banana allergy has been associated with the latex-fruit syndrome. Several IgE-binding components, the relevant ones being proteins of 30-37-kDa, have been detected in banana fruit, but none of them have been isolated and characterized yet. Objective To purify and characterize the 30-37 kDa banana allergens. METHODS: Fifteen patients allergic to banana were selected on the grounds of a latex-allergic population. Prick by prick tests to this fruit were performed. Total and specific IgE to banana were determined. Banana allergens were isolated by affinity chromatography, followed by cation-exchange chromatography. Their characterization includes N-terminal sequencing, enzymatic activity assays, immunodetection with sera from allergic patients and with antichitinase antibodies, and CAP and immunoblot inhibition tests. Skin prick tests with banana extracts and with the purified allergens were also carried out. RESULTS: Two major IgE-binding proteins of 34 and 32 kDa, also recognized by polyclonal antibodies against chestnut chitinases, were immunodetected in crude banana extracts. Purification and characterization of both proteins have allowed their identification as class I chitinases with an hevein-like domain. Each isolated allergen reached inhibition values higher than 90% in CAP inhibition assays, and fully inhibited the IgE-binding by the crude banana extract when tested by an immunoblot inhibition method. The two purified allergens provoked positive skin prick test responses in more than 50% of the banana-allergic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Class I chitinases with an hevein-like domain are major allergens in banana fruit. Their presence in other fruits and nuts, such as avocado and chestnut, could explain the cross-sensitization among these foods.     

Infectivity of an Infectious Clone of Banana Streak CA Virus in A-Genome Bananas (Musa acuminata ssp.)

We have characterized the complete genome sequence of an Australian isolate of banana streak CA virus (BSCAV). A greater-than-full-length, cloned copy of the virus genome was assembled and agroinoculated into five tissue-cultured plants of nine different Musa acuminata banana accessions. BSCAV was highly infectious in all nine accessions. All five inoculated plants from eight accessions developed symptoms by 28 weeks post-inoculation, while all five plants of M. acuminata AA subsp. zebrina remained symptomless. Symptoms were mild in six accessions but were severe in Khae Phrae (M. acuminata subsp. siamea) and the East African Highland banana accession Igisahira Gisanzwe. This is the first full-length BSCAV genome sequence reported from Australia and the first report of the infectivity of an infectious clone of banana streak virus.     

Cloning and Sequence Analysis of Banana Streak Virus DNA

Banana streak virus (BSV), a member of the Badnavirus group of plant viruses, causes severe problems in banana cultivation, reducing fruit yield and restricting plant breeding and the movement of germplasm. Current detection methods are relatively insensitive. In order to develop a PCR-based diagnostic method that is both reliable and sensitive, the genome of a Nigerian isolate of BSV has been sequenced and shown to comprise 7389 bp and to be organized in a manner characteristic of badnaviruses. Comparison of this sequence with those of other badnaviruses showed that BSV is a distinct virus. PCR with primers based on sequence data indicated that BSV sequences are present in the banana genome.