美国学者告诉你 香蕉里面的白丝是什么

Bananas are a wonderful source of potassium and are the perfect on-the-go snack.

香蕉中不仅富含钾元素，而且它也是一种完美的即食零食。

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.

不过，这种水果唯一的缺点就是那些烦人的皮革线--实际上被称为“韧皮束”，也就是剥香蕉皮的时候拉出来的丝儿。

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.

美国一位名叫尼古拉斯·吉利特的学者认为，尽管这些粘手的白丝可能不是最可口的，但实际上它们非常重要--如果没有他们，我们将无法吃香蕉。

The clue as to why those strands are so important is in their name.

关于为什么这些丝儿如此重要的线索，其实全部蕴含于他们的名字之中。

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.

韧皮部是你可以在所有植物中找到的两大类运输组织的其中一个，在整个植物周围运输营养物质和其他物质。

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.

因此，正因为香蕉中韧皮部的存在，所有营养成分才可以输送到整个水果--这才使得它长成了我们所熟知的这种水果。

Nicholas D. Gillitt, who is director at the Dole Nutrition Institute explained to Huffington Post: 'Phloem bundles are necessary for the adequate disposition of nutrients throughout the plant.'

多尔营养研究所所长尼古拉斯·吉利特在《赫芬顿邮报》中解释说：“韧皮束对于整个植物中营养的适当分布是必要的。”

The phloem bundles are completely edible and are just as nutritionally rich as the main part of the fruit, according to Dr Gillitt.

据吉利特博士表示，韧皮束完全是可食的，并且与水果的其他主要部分一样营养丰富。

In fact, the strands probably contain a lot more fibre than the rest of the fruit.

事实上，这些白丝可能比水果的其它部分富含更多纤维。