The Many Uses Of Plantain.

Plantains are nutritious vegetables that are closely related to and look like bananas. The plantain plant is called Musa paradisiaca. They are low in sugar and starchy. Raw plantains are consumed cooked.

Plantains contain vitamins A, C and some B vitamins like pyridoxine, folates, riboflavin, thiamin and niacin. They contain minerals like iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.

Plantains contain fiber and complex carbohydrates which make them an excellent prebiotic for beneficial intestinal bacteria. Ripe plantains are yellow and less starchy than unripe ones which are usually green.

In Nigeria, plantains are boiled, roasted, baked, grilled, fried, mashed, pounded alone or with other starchy foods.

Although the fruit is the popularly consumed or used part, other parts of plantain plant are also used for nutrition, packaging and medicine. Some of the ways the other parts are used are as follows;

• The leaves are used to package foods and to wrap food for cooking. The leaf juice or leaf extract is used in treating diabetes. The leaves are pounded or dried and powdered to treat skin rashes, burns, stings or convulsions.
• Plantain stem juice is used in traditional medicine to dissolve urinary stones, to promote sleep,
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  to soothe and calm the mind and to stop diarrhea. This juice has a stimulating effect on the uterus and is not advisable for consumption by pregnant women.
• The juice from the root is used to treat diabetes, prostrate disorders and venereal diseases.
• The peel has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties and can be used fresh or dried and powdered to treat skin disorders, repel insects, remove splinters, polish shoes, treat hemorrhoids and whiten teeth. The peel has almost the same uses as banana peel. Read more here about the uses of banana peel.
• The flowers of plantain plant can be eaten raw in salads or cooked.

Please share other uses of plantain plant that you may know. Follow on Twitter @heal2bwell.