Bananas and plantains contain compounds with anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and antioxidative properties that hold promise for potentially reversing neurological disorders.

2022 Foods Suitability of Banana and Plantain Fruits in Modulating Neurodegenerative Diseases: Implicating the In Vitro and In Vivo Evidence from Neuroactive Narratives of Constituent Biomolecules Oyeyinka BO, Afolayan AJ

Anti-Apoptotic Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidant

The methodology of the study revolved around scrutinizing the bioactive properties found in bananas and plantains. Researchers pinpointed various neuroprotective mechanisms within commonly consumed fruits, specifically bananas and plantains. The study examined protein expression regulation and targeted specific gene pathways, including nuclear and tumor necrosis factors, extracellular signal-regulated and mitogen-activated protein kinases, activator protein-1, and the glial fibrillary acidic protein. In their investigations, they also considered the underutilized peel components of these fruits.

The results suggest that the multitude of bioactive compounds found in both the pulp and peels of bananas and plantains perform a variety of beneficial neuroprotective activities. These range from acting as antioxidants, preventing cell death (anti-apoptotic), and reducing inflammation (anti-inflammatory), to directly influencing the functionality of the nervous system (neuromodulatory). This discovery implicates plant-based foods, specifically bananas and plantains, as potentially significant substances in combating, halting, or mitigating the pathological mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders.

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