During banana ripening there is a decrease of starch content and an increase of fructose, glucose and mainly sucrose, which has an important impact in the quality of the fruit. These changes have been extensively studied in our laboratory for the cv. Nanicão. The aim of this research was to evaluate in several other commercial and non commercial cultivars the differences in starch degradation and soluble sugar formation. Starch and soluble sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose) contents were enzimatically determined after extraction with ethanol 80% and sodium hydroxide, respectively. Data indicate marked differences of total sugar quantities in ripened fruit, from 9.7% in cv. Mysore to 20.6% in cv. Nanica. Starch content of the cv. Ouro Colatina decreased from 22.0% to 1.2% with ripening, with concomitant sucrose increase to 12.0%. For cvs. Nanica and Nanicão starch decreased from 21.7% to 0.9% and 23.1% to 0.9%, and sucrose increased to 15.2% and 14.0%, respectively.
banana; ripening; starch; sucrose; soluble sugars
