Banana is a healthy fruit (botanically, it is a multi-seeded thick-skinned berry) that prevents blood clots and stimulates blood microcirculation, reduces bad cholesterol, improves intestinal microflora, and has a number of other positive properties. However, as with any other product, you need to pay attention to the quality of a banana before eating it. A good ripe banana has a bright yellow peel. If it has darkened as a result of storage, for example, has brown spots, it can still be eaten. But you should never eat a banana if it looks fresh and ripe, but has burgundy spots, dots, or veins inside.
If a banana has a burgundy core, red spots or veins, you can't eat it. Photo source: telegraf.news
Why are there burgundy spots inside a banana
A banana with burgundy spots inside looks extremely unappetizing. It seems as if there is blood inside. This has led to false claims that such bananas contain a worm or even real blood. In fact, this is not true – there are many plant diseases that cause the fruit to turn red.
The most common cause of red spots is the disease nigrosporosis, caused by a fungus (Nigrospora). With this disease, the center of the banana usually turns dark burgundy. The fungus infects the fruit in tropical climates, where bananas actually grow. In addition, redness of the fruit can be associated with its infection with the bacterium mokilo or moko. In this case, characteristic red spots appear on the banana. However, these diseases are also associated with nigrospora.
The cause of the burgundy spots is the fungus Nigrospora. Photo source: snopes.com
If a person does not immediately notice the presence of nigrospora and bites into a banana, they will feel a crunchy texture that is completely uncharacteristic of a banana. Therefore, it is unlikely that they will want to continue eating it.
Is nigrospora dangerous for humans?
Scientists have long been debating how dangerous nigrospora is for humans. Some argue that it is not a dangerous disease, while others argue that the fungus can cause serious harm to health.
According to some data, a common reaction to this fungus is hay fever or asthma. It has also been proven that nigrospora is dangerous for people with allergies. It is believed that some types of Nigrospora cause eye and skin infections in humans. However, only four cases of infections associated with this fungus have been registered to date.
A banana infected with fungus looks like it has blood in it. Photo credit: iamgujarat.com
There are even known cases of people getting sick after eating contaminated bananas. For example, a 21-year-old guy was diagnosed with a fungal nail disease. Examinations and DNA analysis showed that the disease was caused by the nigrospora fungus.
A case of fungal corneal ulcer was registered in South India. However, this did not happen due to eating bananas, but after a woman was hit in the eye by a cow with its tail, which led to infection. But since there are not many such cases, that is, proven ones, Nigrospora cannot be considered a real pathogen for humans.
There are also unproven cases of the fungus affecting health. For example, in 2015, a case was registered where an 8-year-old girl bit into a banana with nigrospora and immediately felt ill. She was immediately taken to the emergency room. However, the girl was discharged the same day. Presumably, the cause of the poor health was not the fungus itself, but her psycho-emotional state. Simply put, the girl's mother was very scared and scared the suspicious child.
The presence of spots on a banana indicates that a fungus is developing in it. Photo source: udf.name
But, be that as it may, if you find a banana with red spots, to avoid trouble, you need to throw it away. In addition, as already mentioned above, for people with allergies, the fungus can cause really serious health problems. Unfortunately, you can only find out about an allergy to nigrospora after the fact.
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What other bananas should not be eaten
Even more dangerous than nigrospora can be mold, which sometimes appears on stale bananas. Even if it has affected only the peel, it is better to throw away the banana, since the spores have probably penetrated the pulp. Fortunately, mold on a banana is clearly visible, as on any other product.
During ripening, bananas emit methane gas. For this reason, in the 18th century, sailors refused to take bananas on board ships to avoid explosions and fires.
But you should not avoid green, unripe bananas. They are healthier than fully ripe ones. True, green bananas have less fructose, which means they have less sugar. Therefore, such bananas are especially recommended for people with diabetes. But very overripe, dark bananas are best used only for baking, as bacteria multiply faster in them.