The Musa plants range from two to nine meters in height (cultivated) and 10–15 m (wild), consisting of the false stem (pseudostem), corm, foliar including the flowering part. Banana is known to be rich in carbohydrates, dietary fibers, certain vitamins, and minerals.
Banana peel and pulp are known to be good sources of certain biogenic amines (catecholamines) which are produced by the decarboxylation of amino acids or by the amination of aldehydes and ketones.
Catecholamines, such as norepinephrine and dopamine are a group of biogenic amines. Probably, the best well known example of action of those biogenic amines in mammals as neurotransmitters is their hormonal regulation on the glycogen metabolism.
Norepinephrine enhances glucose release into the bloodstream as a result of its glycogenolytic activity in the liver.
It was found that banana contained large amounts of norepinephrine and a related substance, dopamine. Large amounts of serotonin were also identified in banana.
Both norepinephrine and dopamine are catecholamines that are reported to occur in many plants in considerable amounts.
T. Phillips Waalkes in 1958 reported for the first time the catecholamines determined by using fluorometry method found out composition of acetone acidified extracts of banana pulp (serotonin:28 mg/g; norepinephrine: 1.9 mg/g, and dopamine: 7.9 mg/g) (SCIENCE 21 Mar 1958 Vol 127, Issue 3299).
Norepinephrine in banana
