BANANAS AS FOOD 111 



not the case. Dr. Giuseppe Tallarico * has done some very 

 elaborate and exhaustive work on the subject, publishing 

 his full papers upon " Gli Enzimi ideolitici e catalizzanti 

 nel processo di maturazione delle frutta." His main 

 conclusions t are twofold: First, that the pulp of the 

 banana remains absolutely free from microbes so long as the 

 skin is intact ; cultivations upon bread, agar, gelatine, 

 &c., remained completely sterile. Secondly, that the 

 maturation of the fruit is due to ferments, of which there 

 are three main kinds amylotic, invertive, and proteolytic, 

 each of which is present in quantity in the ripe banana. 

 It is perhaps on this account that the fruit is so beneficial 

 in many cases of simple dyspepsia. 



Digestibility. It is necessary, however, to utter a note 

 of warning that bananas when eaten as fruit should be 

 perfectly ripe, otherwise they may be difficult of digestion 

 with some people. It is easy enough to ascertain whether 

 bananas are ripe, for when really ripe there is no longer a 

 trace of green, even at the ends, and the skin has begun 

 to shrivel and darken. The British Medical Journal says : 

 " In their native countries they are seldom eaten before 

 the skin is discoloured, and the pulp so soft that it can be 

 scooped out with a spoon." Dr. Wm. Tibbies J says : 

 "The banana is fit to eat as soon as it has lost all 

 the green colour, and remains fit, no matter how black it 

 may be, so long as the skin is unbroken ; for until the 

 latter occurs, there can be no admission of air and no 

 decomposition." 



The Journal of the American Medical Association puts 

 the necessity of perfect ripeness very plainly as follows : 

 It has been stated that the banana is difficult of diges- 

 tion, and may be the cause of alimentary disturbance. The 

 reason why the banana has achieved this reputation would 

 appear to be that it is often partaken of before it is ripe, 

 and the fruit is imported green, and is ripened by artificial 



* Archive di Farmacologia sperimentale e scienzeaffinio. 



t Tropical Agriculturist, 1908, ii. 79. 



t " Food and Hygiene," second edition, 1910. 



