Bananas are a wonderful source of potassium and are the perfect on-the-go snack. | 香蕉是钾元素的绝佳来源,也是完美的便携零食。 |
The only downside to the fruit are those irritating leathery strands - which are actually called 'phloem bundles' - that you get when you peel back a banana skin. | 唯一的缺点是剥开香蕉皮时让人厌烦的韧丝,其实这是“韧皮束”。 |
But while those stringy bits may not be the most palatable, they are in fact very important - and we wouldn't be able to eat bananas without them, according to Nicholas D. Gillitt, a US academic who shed some light on the mystery this week in a report by Huffington Post. | 根据美国学者尼古拉斯•D•吉略特所言,尽管这些韧丝可能不是最美味的,但其实它们很重要。没有它们的话我们就无法吃到香蕉。本周在《赫芬顿邮报》的一篇报道中,他向大家揭开了这一秘密。 |
The clue as to why those strands are so important is in their name. | 为什么这些韧丝如此重要?答案就隐藏在名字里。 |
Phloem is one of two types of transport tissue that you can find in all plants, and moves nutrients and other substances around the whole plant. | 植物的韧皮部是两种运输组织之一,存在于所有植物中,它们在整株植物中传输营养素和其他物质。 |
In a banana, the phloem strands are therefore the reason why all the nutrients can reach the whole of the fruit - which allows it to grow into the fruit we know of. | 香蕉中的“韧皮束”可以将各种营养素传输到各个部位,长成我们所熟知的香蕉的样子。 |
Nicholas D. Gillitt, who is vice president of nutrition research and director at the Dole Nutrition Institute explained to Huffington Post: 'Phloem bundles are necessary for the adequate disposition of nutrients throughout the plant.' | 尼古拉斯对《赫芬顿邮报》解释说:“韧皮束对于在整个香蕉中的营养素配置非常必要。”他是多尔营养研究所的营养研究副主席兼主管。 |
The phloem bundles are completely edible and are just as nutritionally rich as the main part of the fruit, according to Dr Gillitt. | 他说,韧皮束完全可以食用,和香蕉主要部分一样富含营养。 |
In fact, the strands probably contain a lot more fibre than the rest of the fruit, he says. | 他说,和香蕉的其他部分相比,韧丝中含有的纤维可能更多。 |
It is possible to genetically modify the fruit to prevent strands from forming - but Gillitt says there is little point dedicating funds to research this when companies can better invest in coming up with disease-resistant food or fruit with higher nutritional content. | 人们可以对香蕉进行基因改造,防止形成韧丝,但吉略特说投资进行这一研究没有意义。把投资用来研究含有更多营养素的抗病食物或水果更好。 |