Bioactive Compounds and Biological Activities of Ensete Species

Ensete, commonly known as the “false banana,” is a plant of the subtropical and tropical regions of Asia and Africa. Ensete has received global attention in the past decade. The various parts of the plant, such as the fruits, fruit peel, corm, pseudostem, seed, leaves, flowers, sap, and roots, have been used in traditional medicine to treat various ailments. Starch and other minor/trace components found in Ensete plants have been used as tablet binders, disintegrants, pharmaceutical gelling agents, and sustained release agents in pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. Ensete has been used as a staple and co-staple food by Ethiopians and has many ethnomedicinal uses. The present chapter validates the historic use of various parts of Ensete in treating ailments by providing detailed information on the phytochemicals present in the plant and discussing various biological properties such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, hypolipidemic, cytotoxic, antiurolithiatic, antiestrogenic, nephroprotective, and hepatoprotective properties.