Abstract: Bananas from four major cultivars grown in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Yunnan provinces were selected to determine the contents of 5 mineral elements including potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron and phosphorus and further to analyze and the differences among cultivars and producing areas. Moreover, the index of nutrient value (INQ) was used to evaluate the nutritional value of each of the mineral elements, and their contents in bananas were compared with those in five other tropical fruits and 3 berries. The results showed that the contents and INQ values of potassium and magnesium in bananas were high, 347.75 mg/100 g and 4.40 for potassium; and 27.42 mg/100 g and 2.10 for magnesium, respectively. In contrast, the contents of iron, phosphorus and zinc in bananas were low, and the INQ values were less than 1. The comparative analysis showed that the contents and INQs of potassium and magnesium in bananas were the highest among the 9 fruits tested, and the content of potassium in bananas was 2–3 times as high as that in litchi, pineapple and grape, and 2-4 times as high as that in mango, litchi and pineapple. The contents of potassium in the 4 banana varieties were relatively high and did not differ from each other, while no varietal differences were found in the contents of magnesium, iron and phosphorus. The contents of magnesium and iron in the four banana cultivars (Musa acuminata L. AAA Cavendish) were in following order: ‘Formosana’ > ‘Nan Tian Huang’ > ‘Brazil’ > ‘Williams B6’, whereas the phosphorus contents were in the decreased order: ‘Formosana’ > ‘Brazil’ > ‘Williams B6’ > ‘Nan Tian Huang’; yet there was no significant difference in zinc content, and the INQ values were all less than 1 in these banana cultivars. For all the producing areas, the INQs of potassium and magnesium in bananas were greater than 4 and 1, respectively, and the INQs of zinc, iron and phosphorus were all less than 1. The INQs of magnesium, iron and phosphorus in bananas from Yunnan and Hainan were higher than those in bananas from Guangdong and Guangxi, and the INQs of potassium and zinc in bananas from Yunnan and Guangxi were higher than those in bananas from Guangdong and Hainan. Accordingly, the nutritive value of potassium and magnesium minerals in bananas were high, providing a good mineral source for special populations. The experimental results provide a basis for reasonable nutritional matching and well-balanced nutritional structure.

Key words: banana, mineral element, index of nutritional quality, nutritional evaluation