ABSTRACTRipening banana fruit contains water‐insoluble pigments which have a molecular weight in excess of 4000 and a fluorescence spectrum identical to lipofuscin or age pigments. The pigments were not decomposed by irradiation with ultraviolet light. The flourescent substances increased linearly in the peel and quadratically in the pulp during the course of ripening. It is suggested that the fluorescent substances are products of membrane lipo‐protein peroxidation like the lipofuscin pigments identified in animal tiss
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