A study on human volunteers by the Kasturba medical college in Manipal showed a 10 per cent fall in blood pressure in persons who consumed two bananas daily for a week.

The studies followed successful experiments in rats that showed that ripe and unripe bananas have compounds that can lower blood pressure.

These natural compounds act in a manner similar to anti-hypertensive drugs that are a multi-billion-dollar industry today, a report by the scientists in the journal Current Science says. These drugs inhibit the action of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) which is responsible for forming a substance angiotensin-2 which constricts blood vessels and raises the pressure inside them.

The Manipal team studied six popular banana varieties and found that all had ACE-inhibiting properties, though the ripenedbananas had a stronger action than unripe ones.