Comparative evaluation of gastric secretory response to banana and porridge

Unripe Banana (Plantain) is used in South India as a bland diet for peptic ulcer patients. Flour made of plantain is quite often prescribed in dyspepsia in this part of the country. This has led to the belief that ripe banana may also be a bland fruit. However, it was observed by the Senior Author that ripe banana does produce symptoms of hyperacidity. Hence a study was undertaken to assess whether ripe banana is a bland food or not. A total of 115 patients entered the study. 89 individuals had no GIT symptoms, 15 patients had proved peptic ulcer while 11 patients had non-ulcer acid dyspepsia. The gastric residue was emptied by a nasogastric tube after a night fast. Patients were then given 80 gms. of banana or porridge on two different days. Then consecutive 15 minute samples of gastric juice were collected and submitted for estimation of acid output in mEq/l. It was observed that gastric acid values were higher following banana as compared to porridge and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). It was was thus concluded that ripe banana is not a bland food. It should not be recommended as a part of bland diet for patients of acid peptic disease.