Abstract

Musa balbisiana colla is an important plant native to India and many other Asian countries. Parts of this plant such as seeds, fruit pulp, inflorescence, pseudo-stem, and corm have been known to possess several medicinal values. In Kokrajhar district of Assam, the decoction of corm part of the plant is traditionally used as antidiabetic medicine. The present study was aimed to investigate the phytochemicals, antioxidants, trace element, and major compounds of the corm part of Musa balbisiana. Phenolic and flavonoid contents were estimated following standard protocols. The antioxidant activity of the plant was studied by ferric reducing antioxidant power assay, total antioxidant capacity, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl, and lipid peroxidation scavenging assay. The phytochemical study revealed that the corm extract is rich in protein, carbohydrates, phenolics, and flavonoid content. Antioxidant study revealed strong free radical scavenging property of the crude corm extract of Musa balbisiana. The elemental analysis showed highest Zn content (0.2993 ppm) followed by Ni, Cu, and Mn. Pb, Cd, and Cr were not detected in the extract. GC-MS analysis showed difluroisocyanotophosphine to be the major compound of Musa balbisiana corm extract