What are the dangers of black banana flesh

Bananas can go bad very easily, but some changes in bananas are edible, such as when the skin becomes bad, which is caused by excessive oxidation. However, when some people eat bananas, the flesh inside is black, or maybe only a part of it turns black. Bananas with this characteristic cannot be eaten and will have a great impact on our body. So, what are the dangers of blackened banana pulp? Let’s take a look below.

The reason why bananas turn black

1. Storage time is too long

If a banana is left for too long, the skin will turn black because the banana epidermal cells contain carbon dioxide. Under normal circumstances, the cell membrane will wrap and protect the carbon dioxide tightly. Once the banana is hit or left for a long time at low temperatures, the cell membrane will be damaged, and the carbon dioxide will come into contact with oxygen in the air and become oxidized and turn black.

2. Anthrax invasion causes blackening

When bananas ripen, they may develop anthracnose, a disease caused by the fungus Colletotrichum spp. that causes black spots to appear on the bananas. However, this anthrax bacteria is not the same as the anthrax virus we know, so it will not cause disease and there is no need to worry when eating it.

Can I eat bananas if they turn black?

As for the blackening of banana peels, we know that it is the work of anthrax. However, anthrax is a harmless bacteria and is harmless to health when it enters the human body, not to mention that it is only on the surface of the skin. Therefore, it is completely edible if only the banana peel turns black. As for the situation where the banana flesh turns black, since the blackening component is a quinone-like substance, although it is harmful to the human body, it is relatively minor. Therefore, if there is no widespread blackening of the flesh, bananas can still be eaten. Not only that, the black spots on the banana peel just indicate that the banana is ripe, and this is the best time to eat it.

From the above analysis, we can know that in most cases, bananas that have turned black can still be eaten, unless the banana flesh has turned completely black, which means it is terminally ill and can be discarded directly.