Table 1.

Proximate analysis of fibers and microcrystalline cellulose

Components	Banana fibers (%)	Alkali-treated fibers (%)	Bleached fibers (%)	Microcrystalline cellulose (%)
Cellulose	56.4 ± 0.4	81.5 ± 0.6	89.5 ± 0.5	95.4 ± 0.6*
Hemicellulose	24.7 ± 0.8	11 ± 0.5	7.1 ± 0.3	1.3 ± 0.3*
Lignin	12 ± 0.4	5.4 ± 0.6	0	0*
Ash	2.9 ± 0.1	1.7 ± 0.2	0.93 ± 0.1	0.84*

Each value expressed as mean ± SD (n = 3)

^*Significant (p < 0.005)