Caracterización de la harina de banano verde de rechazo: propiedades morfológicas, estructurales y tecnofuncionales

Green banana flour (GBF) stands out as a promising raw material for agribusiness due to its techno-functional and nutritional properties. In this study, the characterization of flour obtained from rejected green bananas (Musa acuminata AAA, cv. Cavendish) produced in the department of Magdalena, Colombia, located north of the country on the Caribbean coast, was made. Physicochemical, proximate, morphological, structural, and techno-functional parameters were evaluated, as well as their thermal properties and pasting parameters. GBF had a high ash content (2.89%) and a low-fat content (0.6%), which contributes to a high mineral content and flour stability, respectively. The BET mathematical model showed the best fit to describe water absorption in GBF. X-ray diffraction analysis showed a combination of type A and B starch crystallinity. Raman spectroscopy analyses identified characteristic bands, functional groups and molecular interactions related to starch, amylose, and amylopectin (476, 941, and 2,914 cm-1) in the flour. GBF had a pasting temperature around 79.58 °C, good resistance to shear stress at high temperature, and a high tendency to retrogradation. The GBF gelatinization had an enthalpy value of 12.97 J g-1, while the retrogradation enthalpy was 8.19 J g-1. The thermal and pasting values support the starch tendency in GBF to retrograde; this is an attractive property to use GBF as a functional ingredient. This study established the potential of GBF as a promising solution to reduce post-harvest losses of rejected green bananas.