Table 2 Comparative analyses of traditional and medicinal applications of plantain parts

Antidiarrhoeal

Pulp

Flaked

–

Reduces/stops diarrhoea; thus an effective antidiarrhoeal agent

Rabbani et al. (2001), Debaandya and Namrata (2010)

Antidiabetic

Pulp

Ethanolic

100–800

Reduces blood glucose concentration; has antidiabetic effect

Singh et al. (2007)

Antiulcer

Pulp

Ethanolic, aqueous; methanolic

500

Decreases gastric juice; effective against ulcer

Goel et al. (2001), Pannangpetch et al. (2001)

Antioxidant

Pulp

Methanolic

–

Reverses increased lipid peroxidation; a good antioxidant

Goel et al. (2001)

Cholesterol lowering

Pulp, peel; root

Freeze-dried, dried; methanolic

100–500

Corrects histopathological/biochemical imbalances; a good cholesterol normalising agent

Mallick et al. (2006), Parmar and Kar (2008), Vijayakumar et al. (2008)

Liver/kidney protection

Pulp, peel, root; stem

Ethanolic; aqueous

200–500

Reversed and normalise liver and kidney functions; ability to protect liver and kidney

Iweala et al. (2011), Nirmala et al. (2012), Oyewole et al. (2015)

Hair growth and skin protection

Pulp; stem

Aqueous

–

Promotes healthy skin and hair; protects skin and hair

Rojas et al. (2006), Savali et al. (2011), Kumar et al. (2012)

Blood clotting and wound healing

Pulp; stem

Methanolic; aqueous

–

Reduces bleeding & clotting times; possesses haemostatic and wound healing properties

Agarwal et al. (2009), Novak et al. (2003), Weremfo et al. (2011)

Antihypertensive

Pulp

Dried

–

Lowers mean arterial blood pressure to normal; capable of normalising blood pressure

Osim and Ibu (1991)