Food Sci. Biotechnol.
19(2): 449-455 (2010)
DOI 10.1007/s10068-010-0063-5
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Development of Banana Peel Jelly and Its Antioxidant and Textural
Properties
Eun-Hye Lee, Hye-Jung Yeom, Mi-Sun Ha, and Dong-Ho Bae
Received: 28 September 2009 / Revised: 4 December 2009 / Accepted: 6 December 2009 / Published Online: 30 April 2010
© KoSFoST and Springer 2010
Abstract The principal objectives of this study were to antioxidants (1), which are rich in compounds with free
develop a functional jelly product that possesses
antioxidant activity and contains dietary fiber, utilizing
banana peel, a common banana byproduct, and to evaluate
its physicochemical and antioxidant properties to verify the
maintenance of its antioxidant property even after cooking
for jelly-production. The jelly was produced under the
identical conditions of cooking time, temperature, and
sugar contents with ordinary jellies, except the addition of
banana peel powder (BPP). The hardness, chewiness, and
springiness of the produced jellies increased with addition
of supplementary banana peel powder. Antioxidant
activities of BPP and the produced banana peel jellies were
compared through 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)
assay, 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzo thiazoline, 6-sulphonic
acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging test, and nitrite scavenging
activity assay. The antioxidant activities also remained in
the jelly after cooking during jelly production. The textural
properties, the contents of total dietary fiber, phenolics, and
flavonoids, and the antioxidant activities of the jellies were
correlated positively with the amount of BPP added for the
jellies.
Keywords: banana peel, jelly, phenolic, antioxidant
activity, textural property
Introduction
The peels of a variety of plants and fruits are currently the
focus of a great deal of attention as a natural source of
Eun-Hye Lee, Hye-Jung Yeom, Mi-Sun Ha, Dong-Ho Bae ( )
Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul
143-701, Korea
Tel: +82-2-450-3756; Fax: +82-2-456-7011
E-mail: donghoya@konkuk.ac.kr
radical scavenging activity. Fruit peels harbor a fairly large
quantity of non-nutritional antioxidants, including flavonoids,
flavones, and polyphenols (2). Flavonoids, a large group of
plant phenolics, function as natural antioxidants (3).
Phenolic compounds, including phenolic acid and flavonoids,
have been previously recognized for their health-related
properties, which include anticancer, antiviral, and antioxidant
activities (4).
Banana peel is an underutilized source of phenolic
compounds. The peel accounts for 40% of the total weight
of fresh bananas or plantains (5), and these peels are
currently either used as fertilizer or discarded in many
countries (6). According to the criteria established by the
National Cancer Standard Institute (7), banana peel extract
is classified as non-toxic to normal human cells; therefore,
it can be safely utilized as a natural source of antioxidants.
Additionally, the dietary fiber and pectin contents of
banana peels are higher than those of other fruit peels in all
stages of maturity (8). High dietary fiber content of banana
peels (50% of banana peel) makes them promising for a
variety of applications in the health-care food industry.
Although the banana peel harbors sizeable quantities of
phenolics and dietary fiber, it is only very rarely consumed
as a food ingredient, due to its poor flavor and texture.
However, banana peels are also rich in pectins (9-22%) (8);
therefore, it may be possible to produce jelly without the
incorporation of any gel additives. Jelly is a favorite dessert
among all age groups, owing primarily to its digestibility
and good texture. Since Korean Food & Drug Administration
(KFDA) expanded legal shapes of health-care foods in
2008, consumer’s taste needs to be considered in the
production of health-care foods.
Therefore, the principal objectives of this study were to
develop a functional jelly product that possesses
antioxidative activity and contains dietary fiber, utilizing
450 E. -H. Lee et al.

banana peel, a common banana byproduct, and to evaluate

its physicochemical and antioxidant properties to verify the
maintenance of the antioxidant properties after jelly
production.

Materials and Methods

Preparation of banana peel powder (BPP) and jelly

Bananas in the yellow-green stage of ripening, which were
imported from the Philippines by the Dole Co. were
purchased from a local market. The bananas were washed
3 times with fruit detergent. The banana peels were then
freeze-dried (Eyela FD-1,000; Rikakika Co., Tokyo, Japan)
for 48 hr, and ground with a commercial grinder (FM-
909T; Hanil Co., Seoul, Korea) into 60 mess size and
stored at −18ºC in airtight polypropylene plastic containers
for a week.
The jelly formulation consisted of 80 g of sugar, 1 g of
citric acid, and BPP (10-30 g). Distilled water (60 mL) was
added to the BPP and warmed up to 80ºC in a water bath
for 10 min to extract pectins (Fig. 1). Sugar previously
dissolved in boiling water with citric acid was added to the
BPP dispersion (pectin extract) after 20 min of heating at
121ºC. The dispersion was then heated again for
approximately 30 min at 80ºC. In order to obtain a
desirable gel consistency, the end point was judged as the
point at which the total soluble solids of the viscous
dispersion reached 72ºBx, as determined by a hand
refractometer (N3; Atago, Tokyo, Japan). The dispersion
was then poured into a rectangular mold (1.5 × 2.5 cm) and
cooled for 48 hr at room temperature to produce a jelly.
The produced jelly was then freeze-dried, subsequently
ground into a fine powder using a grinder to a size of 60
mess, and stored at −18ºC in an airtight polypropylene
plastic container for analysis.
Proximate analysis and determination of pectin and
dietary fiber contents The BPP and jelly samples were
analyzed for moisture (method 925.09), crude protein
(method 950.48), crude fat (method 969.24), and ash
(method 923.03) using AOAC methods (9). Available
carbohydrates were calculated as 100% (% of moisture+
ash+fat+protein+crude fiber).
The total pectin content was determined via the method
of Yu et al. (10).
Dietary fiber content (method 991.42) was determined
via an enzymatic-gravimetric method (9).
Determination of texture properties Texture profile of
the developed jelly was analyzed with a texture analyzer
(TA plus; Lloyd Instruments, Segensworth East, Fareham,
England). The test involved a 2-cycle compression. The
Fig. 1. Flow diagrams for production of banana peel powder
jelly.
jellies (width 1 cm, length 2 cm, and thickness 1 cm) were
compressed by 6 mm with a crosshead speed of 20 mm/
min. Each test was replicated 5 times.
Preparation of extracts for phenolics and antioxidant
assays The BPP and jelly (2 g) were weighed and extracted
twice at room temperature with continuous stirring for 1 hr,
respectively; first with 100 mL of a methanol: water
mixture (80:20 v/v), and next, with 100 mL of an acetone:
water mixture (70:30 v/v) with intermittent centrifugation
(4,000 × g, 15 min). The supernatants were transferred into
volumetric flasks and 80% methanol was added to the
samples to a total volume of 200 mL. According to Keinanen
(11), this extraction method enables the collection of a
broad range of phenols, including: simple phenols,
flavonoid glycosides, procyanidins, and certain oligomeric
and polymeric proanthocyanidins from diverse sample
types.
Determinations of total phenolics and total flavonoids
contents The total phenolic contents of the sample were
assessed via the Folin-Ciocalteu method (12). A solution
containing 1 mL of extract or standard solution of gallic
acid (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) was mixed with
1 mL of Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (Merck Co., Darmstadt,
Germany). After 3 min, 10 mL of 7% sodium carbonate
solution was added to the mixture. The mixture was