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When abananaripens , it turns scandalmongering — unless you bet at it under a black light , in which instance , it appear bright blue , a new study has found . The banana ’s aristocratical glow was discovered by scientists at the University of Innsbruck in Austria and Columbia University in New York , the first team to look for this phenomenon in banana tree . The researchers think the coloring is related to the degradation ofchlorophyllthat occurs as the banana ripens and could aid animals who eat bananas and can see in the ultraviolet reach of the spectrum Chlorophyll is the greenish pigment present in plant that tolerate them to receive energy from light duringphotosynthesis . As the banana ripens , the chlorophyll begins to wear down — a process call katabolism — and the resulting product are rivet in the banana tree peel . Underultraviolet light , more unremarkably known as black light , these breakdown products fluoresce , or shine , blue . " Surprisingly , this down in the mouth luminescence has been entirely overlooked , " say study team loss leader Bernhard Kräutler of the University of Innsbruck . Before the squad ’s find , detail in the Oct. 10 early online edition of the journalAngewandte Chemie , fluorescing chlorophyll catabolytes , or products of crack-up , had only been found in mellow plant and were short - live on . While the banana ’s blue-blooded lambency does diminish as it ripens , its catabolytes are unco long - lived . This long length could be due to one of the breakdown product identify in the banana peel by the squad , which has a stabilizing effect and has never been image before as a chlorophyll partitioning product . Just why this degradation occurs differently in the banana tree yield than other plants , even banana leaves , is n’t completely known , but Kräutler has a dyad hunches . " In contrast to humans , many of the animals that eat up banana tree can see Inner Light in the UV range , " he said . " The blue luminescence of the banana tree fruit could give them a distinct signaling that the yield is ripe . " Another theory is that the chlorophyll breakdown production also suffice a biological part for the banana tree , as the stable products could help keep the yield executable for longer , Kräutler allege .
Ripening bananas exhibit intense blue luminescence under UV light. Their luminescence arises from fluorescent chlorophyll catabolites which accumulate in the banana peels during ripening; their natural further conversion to nonfluorescent catabolites is specifically inhibited by a previously unrecognized chemical modification.
