Changes in the Activities of Some Carbohydrate Degrading Enzymes During Ripening of Musa paradisiaca and Musa sapientum

摘要

The activities of starch phosphorylase, total amylase, alpha-amylase, beta-amylase and invertase were monitored in the pulp of post harvest plantain and banana from unripe to the very ripe state. The activities of all the enzymes assayed for increasedsignificantly (p<0.01) as assessed by student t-test. For plantain and banana, the enzymes; starch phosphorylase, P-amylase and invertase had their highest activity prior to the climacteric peak, while total amylase and a-amylase activities were highestat the climacteric. This indicates that starch phosphorylases and P-amylase are important in the initial starch to sugar conversion, while total and alpha-amylases attained their highest activity at the climacteric peak when a large part of starch had already disappeared. The absolute values obtained showed higher enzyme activities for plantain than for banana, this could be a reflection of higher starch content of plantain.