Complete nutrient profile of Banana flower: A review Damini soni 1 and Gargi saxena 2 Research scholar, IIS (Deemed to be University), Department of Home Science, Jaipur, India. Senior Assistant professor, IIS (Deemed to be University), Department of Home Science, Jaipur, India. Corresponding author e-mail : daminisoni1013@gmail.com Jour Pl Sci Res 37 (2) 433-437 2021 DOI:-https://doi.org/10.32381/JPSR.2021.37.02.6 INTRODUCTION The increase in population worldwide has given rise to the demand for conventional food products majorly by- products of fruits and vegetables which are usually discarded as waste but are good source of nutrients including various bioactive compounds which work as antioxidants to fight the oxidative stress produced in the body. Bananas are popularly consumed fruit which are grown in almost every country in the world especially in the tropical and subtropical countries. Global production of banana grew at a compound annual rate of 3.2%, reaching a record of 114 million tonnes in 2017. The biggest producer is India, which produced 29 million tonnes year on an average between 2010 and 2017, followed by China at 11 million tones on an average per year (FAOSTAT, 2017). The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant which grows in tropical and subtropical regions. In a collection of single bunch of bananas, India is one of the biggest producers of banana, producing 29 million tonnes per year on an average between 2010 and 2017, followed by China at 11 million tones on an average per year. Banana flower also known as banana male bud or banana blossom is the edible by product of banana cultivation which due to its good nutritional value is consumed in many Asian countries like Sri lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and India. Banana blossoms are usually thrown away by producers, producing huge post harvest waste. They contain various bioactive compounds like flavanoids, alkaloids, phenols, tannins which are known to possess antioxidant, antivirus, antimicrobial and anticancer activities. Blossoms are good source of crude fiber with some biologically active compounds like vitamin C, tannins, myoinositol phosphates, and alpha tocopherols. The flower is used to treat ulcers, dysentery, bronchitis, alleviating menstrual bleeding problems, facilitates lactation, helps in overcoming diabetes, helpful in weight loss and is good for gastrointestinal health. The flower being a rich source of phytochemicals imparting antioxidant activity can be used to prepare various detoxifying beverages and products incorporating ginger, mint, carrot, wheatgrass, spirulina, gooseberries and lemon to enhance the antioxidant activity and acceptability. Keywords: Banana flower, antioxidants, underutilized food, By-product. lots of banana flowers are produced. The flowers are large, pointed and crimson colored with some yellow and others being pink (Ambrose, 2018). Taste of the flower is crunchy, nutty and starchy. The color ranges from orange to purple and the florets inside are either white or pale yellow in color (Catherine, 2019). Flowers are waste material produced during crop production but has good nutritional profile. According to a study (Preethi and Balakrishnamurthy, 2011) 300 kgs of banana bracts are produced as residues during per hectare harvesting of banana fruit. Presence of bioactive compounds such as phenols and flavanoids (Loganayaki et al., 2010) which are potential antioxidants helps in alleviating ulcers, asthma, heart pain, diarrhea, diabetes (Sumathy et al., 2011) and hence are consumed in many Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, India and Myanmar in different forms like pickle, salad, with fried rice, canned food and dehydrated vegetable (Wickra et al., 2005) (Figure 1).