Banana is a monocotyledonous plant of large herbs and belongs to the family Musaceae. The places of origin of bananas include southern China, India, West Indies, and Oceania. Taiwan is located in the subtropics and its banana productivity is abundant. Taiwan has been known as the kingdom of banana because it grows all year round and is produced abundantly from May to August. Banana contains many nutrients, such as carbohydrates, starch, vitamins, pectin, calcium, phosphorum, ferrum and various enzymes.
About 80% people would more or less experience constipation throughout their lives. Constipation may be caused by many reasons including insufficient intake of cellulose and water, long-term sedentary, and environmental changes, and could become serious as being pregnant, traveling and changing diets. Constipation could be the syndrome of other rare diseases such as scleroderma, nervous system and endocrine system diseases (including thyroid diseases, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and spinal cord injury). Colon inertia that is caused by unknown reasons may prolong gastric emptying time, lead to anal sphincter disorder, and disable people from feeling relaxed during bowel movement, and thus, may also cause constipation.
Most patients with constipation can be treated by increasing high-fiber food products and water in their diets. Banana, which is common and abundant in Taiwan, is used in the present invention for producing a banana fermentation product via a fermentation process in the presence of specific microbes. The banana fermentation product provides effects much better than banana on preventing constipation. Therefore, the banana fermentation product can be used for providing an edible composition or a pharmaceutical composition for relieving constipation symptoms via a natural, non-chemical synthesis process without causing side effects.