Banana is a name used in traditional Chinese medicine. It refers to the fruit of Musa nana Lour. and Musa sapientum L. [M. paradisiaca L. var. sapientum (L.) O. Kuntze], plants belonging to the genus Musa in the family Musaceae. It has the effects of clearing heat, moistening the lungs, promoting bowel movements, and detoxifying.It is primarily used to treat feverish conditions with excessive thirst, dry-lung cough, constipation, and hemorrhoids.
Banana
Banana is a name used in traditional Chinese medicine. It refers to the fruit of Musa nana Lour. and Musa sapientum L. [M. paradisiaca L. var. sapientum (L.) O. Kuntze], plants belonging to the genus Musa in the family Musaceae. It has the effects of clearing heat, moistening the lungs, promoting bowel movements, and detoxifying.It is primarily used to treat feverish conditions with excessive thirst, dry-lung cough, constipation, and hemorrhoids.
Chinese Name : 香蕉
Aliases : Banana Seeds, Banana Fruit
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Sweet in taste, cold in nature
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Clears heat, moistens the lungs, lubricates the bowels, and detoxifies.
Indications
Fever with intense thirst, dry-lung cough, constipation, and hemorrhoids.
Usage and Dosage
Internal use: Eat raw or stewed, 1–4 pieces.
Chemical Constituents
Banana fruit contains serotonin. Plantain fruit contains steroids: 14α-methyl-9β,19-cyclo-5α-ergost-24(28)-ene-3β-ol and 31-norpregnenolone.They also contain dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin, protein, citric acid, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase.
Pharmacological Actions
1. Anti-ulcer effects: Oral administration of 6 g/kg banana powder to rats provided good protection against stress-induced and indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer models, with ulcer inhibition rates of 50% and 38%, respectively. It significantly promoted healing in a chronic gastric ulcer model induced by acetic acid, with an ulcer inhibition rate of 72%. 2. Antioxidant and Cholesterol-Lowering Effects: Fresh bananas can significantly reduce the levels of lipid peroxides in human plasma very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and high-density lipoproteins (HDL). 3. Other Effects: Dietary cellulose isolated from unripe bananas, acting as a natural cleansing agent, can alter the concentration of glycerol-N-acetylglucosamine in the aorta of rats fed a diet containing free cholesterol or a cholesterol-rich diet, while simultaneously reducing the activity of β-glucuronidase (9.5%) and N-acetylglucosaminidase (19.7%) in the aorta.
Relevant Discussions
1. *Daily Herbal*: “When eaten raw, it breaks up blood stasis, heals wounds, and relieves alcohol toxicity; when dried, it relieves muscle heat and thirst.”
2. *Compendium of Materia Medica*: “It eliminates transient fever in children and counteracts the toxicity of cinnabar and other mineral poisons.”
3. *In Search of the Origins of Materia Medica*: “It quenches thirst, moistens the lungs, relieves alcohol toxicity, clears the spleen, and lubricates the intestines; for those with excessive spleen fire, consuming it can actually stop diarrhea and dysentery.”
4. *Modern Practical Chinese Herbal Medicine*: “Treats constipation, hypertension, and arteriosclerosis, among other conditions.”
5. *Fujian Materia Medica*: “Treats severe constipation, dysentery, and tonsillitis.”
Applications
Clinical Applications
Medicinal Dietary Therapy:
Banana and Potato Puree:
Benefits: Bananas and potatoes are rich in folic acid. Increasing intake of folic acid-rich foods during early pregnancy supports the development of the fetus’s blood vessels and nervous system.
Ingredients: 1 banana, 1 potato, 10 strawberries, and honey to taste.
Preparation: Peel the banana and mash it with a spoon. Wash and peel the potato, then steam it in a rice cooker until soft and tender. Remove, mash into a puree, and let cool. Mix the banana puree with the potato puree, top with strawberries, and drizzle with honey.
Usage: Consume as desired.
Related Compatibility
1. For chronic cough: 1–2 bananas. Simmer with rock sugar and consume 1–2 times daily for several consecutive days. (From *Food, Chinese Herbs, and Simple Remedies*)
2. For hemorrhoids and post-bowel movement bleeding: 2 bananas. Simmer them with the peel on until tender, then eat them with the peel. (From *Lingnan Herbal Collection*)
3. For hypertension, arteriosclerosis, constipation, and numbness in the fingers: Eat 3–5 bananas daily. (*Modern Practical Chinese Medicine*)
4. For tonsillitis and dysentery: 2 unripe bananas. Slice them, add an appropriate amount of rock sugar, and simmer in water. (*Fujian Materia Medica*)
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Harvest the fruit when nearly ripe; use fresh or sun-dry.
Crude Drug Identification
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
Plants of the genus Musa in the family Musaceae, including banana and plantain.
Morphological Characteristics
1. Banana: A perennial herb with creeping stems. Plants grow in clumps, generally less than 2 m tall, though tall varieties can reach 4–5 m. The pseudostems are dark green with black spots and covered with a white powdery coating, particularly on the upper parts. The petioles are short and thick, usually less than 30 cm long; the leaf wings are distinct, spreading, and the margins are brownish-red or bright red.The leaf blades are oblong, (1.5–)2–2.2 m long and 60–70 cm wide, with a bluntly rounded apex and a nearly circular base; they are bilaterally symmetrical. The upper surface is dark green and lacks a white powdery coating, while the lower surface is light green and covered with a white powdery coating.The spike-like inflorescence is pendulous; the rachis is densely covered with brown tomentum; the bracts are dark purple on the outside; the bracts of the male flowers do not fall off; each bract encloses two rows of flowers;Flowers are milky white or slightly tinged with pale purple; the free perianth segments are nearly circular, entire, and have a conical acute apex; the fused perianth segments have two small lateral lobes in the middle, approximately half the length of the central lobe; the largest fruit cluster contains as many as 360 fruits and can weigh up to 32 kg;A typical fruit cluster consists of 8–10 segments, containing 150–200 fruits; the fruits are oblong, 15–25 cm long, with distinct 4–5 ridges, tapering gradually toward the apex, a short peduncle, a bluish-green peel, sweet and smooth flesh, no seeds, and a particularly strong aroma. Flowering and fruiting occur year-round.2. Plantain: The main differences from the previous variety are as follows: the petiole is very elongated, measuring over 30 cm in length, often covered with a white powdery coating, and the leaf wings are closed; the inflorescence is pendulous, with a glabrous rachis; the bracts are ovate or ovate-lanceolate, deciduous, purplish-red on the outside and deep red on the inside; each bract bears two rows of flowers, and the male flowers are deciduous;The perianth segments are yellowish-white; the fused perianth segments are 4–6.5 cm long, while the free perianth segments are approximately half the length of the fused ones. They are transparent, waxy, and glossy, oblong or nearly circular in shape, with the apex featuring a small protrusion, a conical tip, or curled into a sac-like structure.The fruit cluster consists of 7–8 to several dozen segments. The fruit is oblong, relatively short and stout in proportion to its width; the fruit body is straight or slightly curved, with distinct ridges. The flesh is fine-textured and firm; it tastes astringent when unripe and sweet or slightly tart when ripe, but lacks aroma or has only a faint scent; it is seedless or contains only a few seeds. Flowering and fruiting occur year-round.
Distribution Area
1. Banana: Cultivated in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Taiwan. 2. Plantain: Cultivated in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Taiwan. Native to India, Malaysia, and other regions.