Cysteine proteases from Banana Agrowastes

Musa sapientum (common banana) is an herbaceous plant of the family Musacaeae and native to the tropical region of Southeast Asia but today, they are cultivated throughout the tropics (Visnawathan et al; 1989). Bananas are a staple food and one of the world's most important food crops. In developing countries, they are the fourth most important food crops after rice, wheat, and maize. Both bananas and plantains are crop plants found mostly in the humid tropics where they are used as staple foods for humans (Visnawathan et al; 1989). There are more than 32 species and 100 sub-species of bananas in existence, each with minor morphological differences from the others. The banana plant produces bunches with varying number of small, fleshy fingers, sometimes up to 200 fingers, while the plantain produces bunches with fewer but bigger fingers. Bananas are the type normally exported around the world, while plantains are rarely exported but are used locally in various forms by humans. Plantains in fact are often regarded as the ¿cooking bananä.