Name: Musa acuminata

Distribution: Tropical regions worldwide

Medicinal uses: sleep aid, first aid, skin treatment

Activity: The banana is easy to grow and produces high energy fruit that is high in potassium. The banana is also has many medicinal uses. The fruit is reported to be a sleep aid. This may be due to the presence of the neurotransmitters serotonin, nor-epinephrine and dopamine. The inner peel, leaf and stalk have been reported to have antibacterial properties. The juice of the leaf is able to stop bleeding of fresh scrapes. This may be due to the natural tannins which have an astringent quality of the plant which causes the skin to contract and stop superficial bleeding.