Plantain

Musa x paradisiaca

MEDICINAL BENEFITS

Multiple parts 

• Applied externally the juice of the root is used to treat swelling

Bark

• The pulp of the trunk is made into an infusion to soothe dysentery

Root

• A root is strongly stringent and has been used to reduce coughing up of blood

Leaves

• Leaves, dried, and made into a syrup, are used to treat coughs and chest conditions such as bronchitis

• Infusion of the banana leaf, combined with sugarcane roots is used to hasten childbirth

Flower

• Flower is astringent

Fruit

• Unripe fruits are roasted as a treatment for diarrhoea, fruit is used to treat epilepsy

• Peeled and sliced fruit is placed on the forehead to relieve the heat of a headache

• The peel of the fruit is considered an abortive 

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

• It is a perennial 

• The leaves are often left to rot in farms to replenish some of the nutrients in the soil 

• It’s important to utilize low-cost agricultural by-products, which could contribute to an additional source of revenue for farmers without adversely affection soil fertility 

• Planting as a natural windbreak, beneficial during the rainy season 

• Beneficial against soil erosion

OTHER USES

• Fruit is raw or cooked 

• The inner stem can be boiled and eaten, can be dried and made into flour and starch

• Blanched shoots that sprout from the base can be roasted and eaten

• Leaves are commonly used for wrapping foods that are cooked 

• Ashes of the plant can be used as a salt substitute 

• Juice from the root is used as a hair tonic