CHAPTER XVI 

 BANANAS IN MEDICINE 



IN considering the claims of banana flour, it has been 

 shown how valuable it is for patients suffering from 

 gastric troubles. 



Sir H. M. Stanley in " Darkest Africa " (ii. 239), gives his 

 testimony as follows : " The Awamba understood the art 

 of drying bananas over wooden gratings for the purpose 

 of making flour. ... If only the virtues of the flour 

 were publicly known, it is not to be doubted but it would 

 be largely consumed in Europe. For infants, persons of 

 delicate digestion, dyspeptics, and those suffering from 

 temporary derangements of the stomach, the flour, 

 properly prepared, would be of universal demand. During 

 my two attacks of gastritis, a light gruel of this, mixed 

 with milk, was the only matter that could be digested." 



In India, the native home of the banana, medical men 

 prescribe not only the fruit, but also many other parts 

 of the plant, as remedies. 



The " Dictionary of the Economic Products of India " 

 contains numerous extracts from the opinions of medical 

 men in India on the value of the banana plant in medicine. 

 Civil Surgeon R. A. Parker, M.D., states : " A com- 

 bination of ripe banana, tamarind, and common salt is 

 most efficacious in dysentery. I have used it in many 

 cases, both of the acute and chronic forms of the disease, 

 and seldom failed to effect a cure. It may, in fact, be 

 said to be a specific, and I can confidently recommend it 

 to the profession as well as to the public. It is simple, 

 easily procurable, and may safely be administered to a 



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