POTENTIALS OF UTILIZING DEGRADED PLANTAIN PEELS AS A LOCAL BEVERAGE

Wastes and their disposal have become an environmental concern worldwide especially when these wastes are biodegradable to useful goods and services. Plantain peels, are by-products of the plantain processing which are normally dumped in landfills, rivers or unregulated grounds which constitute environmental pollution. Plantain flour was prepared from non- degraded plantain peels and it was discovered during this research work that plantain flour has high moisture content, lower crude protein, but no crude protein, no crude fiber, no caffeine and it has high Vitamin C with little cyanide. There were observable changes recorded in the nutritional qualities and phytochemical components of the plantain peel samples- the crude fiber protein and moisture contents of the fermented samples had lower values as compared to the unfermented ones. This research work has described the potentials, nutritional and phytochemical components of non-degraded plantain peels as a local beverage low in sugar content which is suitable for a patient suffering from diabetes.