香蕉皮的潜在应用价值。图片来源：J. Funct. Foods [3]
此外，香蕉皮富含各种有益的生物活性成分，尤其是黄酮类化合物、单宁酸、叶绿素、生物碱、花青素和萜类化合物等，可以减少脂质氧化，具有抗菌、抗高血压、抗糖尿病和抗炎等功效。其中，酚类和类胡萝卜素与人类健康相关，可以预防心血管疾病、癌症、糖尿病和肥胖症。
香蕉皮中酚类化合物抗氧化作用机理。图片来源：J. Funct. Foods [3]
香蕉皮所含的大量生物活性成分使其在食品工业中的表现出巨大潜力。比如，研究者将少量香蕉皮粉添加到鸡肉肠中，可以降低总脂肪含量，提高鸡肉肠的抗氧化性和保质期限 [5]。也有研究者将其添加到面包的烘焙中，碳水化合物含量明显降低，有利于改善血糖控制和肥胖症，总酚含量和类黄酮含量明显提高 [6]。甚至还有研究者将香蕉皮制成可降解的食品包装纸，其富含的纤维能够增强包装的机械性能，45天内可完全生物降解 [7]。
香蕉皮在食品工业中的应用。图片来源：J. Funct. Foods [3]
随着近几十年能源领域的火热，香蕉皮自然也逃脱不了作为能源材料前驱体的命运。比如，香蕉皮负载电活性纳米材料，制备高容量的超级电容器、锂离子电池、锂硫电池、钠离子电池等电极 [8-10]，利用其相对较高的电极填充密度，实现高倍率能力、循环稳定性等电化学性能。亦有研究者利用闪光灯辐照，在14.5 毫秒的时间里通过光热反应，将香蕉皮分解为多孔碳和氢气，将天然生物质废物转化为新能源，实现废物利用 [11]。
光解香蕉皮。图片来源：Chem. Sci. [11]
人们对健康饮食以及减少食物浪费的兴趣与日俱增，正在以创造性的方式利用水果和蔬菜的每一部分。香蕉皮也不再是垃圾，它们正在从科学家的论文中，走进人们的餐桌上和盘子里，甚至加入能源材料的大军。所以，别拿香蕉皮不当干粮哦~~
参考文献
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Check for updates. Chem. Sci. 2022, 13, 1774-1779. DOI: 10.1039/D1SC06322G
（本文由小希供稿）
