A preliminary chemotaxonomic study on the condensed tannins of green banana flesh in the Musa genus

Sixty percent acetone-soluble tannins were obtained from the flesh of 29 accessions of green bananas and plantains belonging to the AA, AB, AAA, AAB, and ABB genotypes. Their tannin contents were between 0.3 and 2.1% of fresh matter, except for the Pacific plantains (“Maoli” and “Pōpō’ulu” sub-groups) which were tannin-free. (−)-Epigallocatechin (EGC) was their major constituent (88–98%) followed by minor proportions of (−)-epicatechin (EC) (2–12%). Hierarchical average linkage clustering analysis using (EGC/EC) as the sole variable agglomerated all plantains (AAB), while the “Pisang Lilin” cultivar (AA, “Pisang Lilin” sub-group) was separated from the other AA diploids. Finally (EGC/EC) seemed to be independent of agropedoclimatic conditions of banana growth.

Research highlights
► Green banana flesh tannins are made of epigallocatechin and epicatechin.
► The (epigallocatechin/epicatechin) ratio segregates banana and plantain cultivars.
► Plantains from the Maoli and Popo'ulu sub-groups are tannin-free.