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ABSTRACT 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. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of
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BIOACTIVE PHENOLIC COMPOUND IN DATE FRUITS (_PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA_ L.) Article Open access 22 April 2022 MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF POLYPHENOLIC CONTENT AND IN 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). Article CAS Google Scholar * Robinson, G. M., _J. Chem. Soc._, 1157 (1937).
* Simmonds, N. W., _Ann. Bot._, N.S., 18, 471 (1954). Article Google Scholar * Swain, T., _Biochem. J._, 53, 200 (1953). Article CAS Google Scholar * Waalkes, T. P., Sjoerdsma, A.,
Creveling, C. R., Weissbach, H., and Udenfried, S., _Science_, 127, 648 (1958). Article ADS CAS Google Scholar * Griffiths, L. A., _Nature_, 180, 1373 (1957). Article ADS CAS Google
Scholar Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Regional Research Centre, Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, Trinidad, British West Indies L. A. GRIFFITHS
Authors * L. A. GRIFFITHS View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE 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 Download citation * Issue
Date: 04 July 1959 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/184058a0 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a
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