"Bananas are healthy. They're a good source of fibre, potassium and starch. It also contains B vitamins. Claiming that the food bananas protect against Covid-19 is a daring claim, which lacks any soil. Still, some people got it into their heads to claim this and to send a video about it on the internet. Fake news."
"As a pioneer of the Fairtrade banana, our curiosity was stimulated to learn more about the world's largest herbaceous plant, the banana. A little search in the scientific literature taught us, to our own astonishment, that certain substances in bananas and other plants indeed have antimicrobial properties."
"Bananas contain about 1% protein. Part of this protein is called lectin, also occurring in many other plants. The special thing is that these proteins have the ability to bind to certain, very specific sugar groups, like a key that only fits a certain lock. The banana lectin is specially equipped to bind to mannose. This mannose sits on protrusions of a coronavirus, the spikes. With these, they penetrate the cells of the respiratory tract. The banana protein, also called BanLec, can attach itself to the mannose of the virus and thus block the spike."
"Several researchers at universities all over the world are working to better understand the properties and possibilities of banana lectin. Does this mean that eating bananas helps against viral diseases such as Covid-19? No, in order to be active the protein has to get into the blood. When a banana is eaten, the protein in the stomach is broken down."
"But there are many other good reasons to eat an Oké banana: sustainably grown, often organic, very tasty. We pay a fair price and Fairtrade premium to the farmers. This is now even more important: with it, doctors from our cooperatives provide information about Covid prevention, such as washing hands and keeping a distance. They purchase personal protective equipment so that the harvesting and packaging can continue and they are not thrown back into a livelihood without income."
For more information:
Cornelie den Otter
AgroFair
Email: Cornelie.den.Otter@agrofair.nl
Tel: +31(0)180 643 977
Mob: +31(0)652607243
www.agrofair.nl