Exploring the Changes in Nutritional Quality of Banana Fruits (Musa spp.) Using Ethephon as Ripening Agents

This research study aimed to investigate the extent of changes in the nutritional and biochemical properties of bananas when different ethephon concentrations were applied. The goal was to identify the optimum concentration of ethephon for ripening bananas. Bananas were divided into two groups, nontreated banana (NTB) and ethephon treated banana (ETB) with 500 ppm (ETB1), 1000 ppm (ETB2), and 2000 ppm (ETB3) and observed for 8 days. Applying 2000ppm of ethephon led to accelerated ripening within 2 days, with a subsequent 4-day shelf life. This stands in contrast to bananas ripened with 1000ppm, 500ppm, and NTB, which exhibited a shelf life of 5, 6, and 11 days, respectively. The current research revealed significant differences(p<0.05) in the rate of ripening and rotting, total soluble solids, total sugar, reducing sugar, moisture, fiber, carbohydrate, and energy content between NTB and ETB samples. The NTB samples on the 2nd day exhibited the highest vitamin C content (8.10 ± 0.10 mg/100g). NTB samples exhibited higher sodium, iron, magnesium, and calcium contents, while ETB samples showed elevated levels of potassium and phosphorous. Based on considerations of ripening duration, shelf life, and nutritional preservation, a 1000ppm dosage of ethephon emerges as the preferred choice for artificial ripening purposes.