What You Need to Know
The process involves drying banana stems at 60–80 °C to reduce moisture below 10 %, followed by a 1 % (w/v) NaOH pretreatment for 2 h that partially delignifies the material, decreasing lignin content by ~30 %. Subsequent fine grinding to <200 µm yields a flour composed of ~70 % cellulose, 15 % hemicellulose, 10 % lignin and 5 % pectin, suitable for gluten‑free applications.
Steps
- 1.
Ghanaian Tuo Zaafi (Northern Ghana): Used as fiber supplement to improve dough elasticity
- 2.
Indian Thepla (Gujarat): Partial wheat flour replacement for gluten-free flatbread
- 3.
Nigerian Masa (Hausa communities): Fermentation substrate for probiotic rice cakes
The Science
Primary Reaction
alkaline delignification (partial hydrolysis of lignin)