Carica papaya (Caricaceae)

By : Sana Akram14-Arid-4374

CONTENTSCarica papaya (Name origin)TaxonomyDistributionconstituentsBotanical descriptionEcologyUsesDangers of Carica papaya

ClasssificationKingdom PlantaeSubkingdom TracheobiontaSuperdivision SpermatophytaDivision MagnoliophytaClass MagnoliopsidaSubclass DilleniidaeOrder ViolalesFamily CaricaceaeGenus CaricaSpecies Carica papaya

Carica papaya (Caricaceae)

Synonym : papaya Carica.

Common names : papaya, pawpaw, tree melon

East indies and southern Asia : tapaya, kepaya , kapaya, lapaya

Brazil : Mamao

Carica papaya DistributionNative : Costa rica , Mexico, USAExotic : Australia, Barbadus, Bahamas,

Antigua and Berbuda, Brazil, Cameroon, Cambodia, chile, Cuba, Columbia, Fiji, Haiti, India, Indonesia , Kenya , Malaysia, Myanmar, Newzealand, Nigeria, Philppines, Singapore, Solomon islands, South Afriqa, Sri lanka, Tanzania, Sodan , thailand , vitenam.

Botanical Description of Carica papayaCarica papaya is an evergreen herb, having

treelike appearance, 2-10 m tall and usually unbranched. It contains white latex. Its stem is cylindrical having diameter 10-30 cm. root system is extensive. C.papaya comes into fruiting in 5 months and it lives for 4-5 years.

LEAVES : Leaves are arranged spirally , clusterd close to apex of trunk, petiole upto 1m long, purple green or green colored orbicular lamina, diameter is 25-75cm ,glabrous, palmate, venation prominent, lobes are deep and broadly toothed

FLOWER : Flowers are yellow and tiny, funnel shaped, solitary and may be clustered in the leaf axils

Three types of flowerMale flowerFemale flowerHermaphrodite

FEMALE FLOWER: 3-5cm in length, pistil large

functional, ovary ovoid.MALE FLOWER: Flower present on long hanging

penicles having 10 stamens in two rows. HERMAPHRODITE: Flower larger than male flower, ovary 5

carpellate.

FRUIT : fruit is large with fleshy orange

pulp, when ripe skin is thin yellow. Female flower fruit are pear shaped, spherical, oblong. Fruit of hermaphrodite flower are long pyriform or obovoid. Seeds larger in number black small , round covered with gelatinous aril.

CONSTITUENTS Contains many biological active compounds,

important two are papain and chymopapain, known to aid in digestion.

Phenolic compounds more in male treesLeaf, fruit , stem and root yield a proteolytic enzyme ,

propain(papayotin) , malic acid, phtokinase and calcium maliate.

Its fresh latex gives chymopapain .Its fruit yields saccharose 0.85% , dextrose 2.6% ,

levulose 2.1% , pectin, malic acid , citrate and papain. Volatile oil obtained from its seeds.

Papaya :304.00 grams ,118.56 caloriesNutrient amount DV (%) Nutrient

densityVitamin c 187.87 mg 313.1 47.5

Vitamin A 3325.76 IU 66.5 10.1

Folate 115.52 mcg 28.9 4.4

Potassium 781.28 mg 22.3 3.4

Fiber 5.47 g 21.9 3.3

Vitamin E 2.22 mg 11.1 1.7

Vitamin K 7.90 mcg 9.9 1.5

Compounds found in different parts of Carica papayaCompounds Plant part AmountAlkaloids Leaves 1,300-4,000 ppmButanoic acid Fruit Pulp 1.2mg/kgMethyl butanoate FruitDehydrocarpaines Leaves 1,000 ppmPseudocarpaine Leaves 100 ppmChymopapain Latex and exudate  Flavonols Leaves 0-2,000 ppmBenzylglucosinolate All Parts  Alpha-linolenic acid Fruit 250-2,238 ppmPapain Fruit, Latex 53,000 ppmAlpha-phellandrene Fruit  Tannins Leaves 5,000-6,000 ppm

ECOLOGY Carica papaya satisfactorily grows in wide

range of areas , equatorial tropics to temperate latitudes . it should be grown in warm sunny sites, strong winds are harmfull. When Carica papaya is exposed to frost or cold wind result in leaf damage and death of plant waterlogging even for a short time kill the plant.

BIOPHYSICAL LIMIT: Altitude 0- 1600m , Mean

annual temperature (15) 21-33 deg centigrade, Mean annual rainfall : 1000- 2000 mm.

SOIL TYPE: Well aerated, permeable, well

drained, fertile loamy soil, enough with organic matter and PH range 6-7 is ideal for growth of Carica papaya.

Dangers of Carica papaya  Papaya is generally safe for human consumption

even for children and pregnant women. But caution is given to those who have latex allergy as Papaya can cause anaphylaxis attack in some cases.

Fresh papaya latex causes skin irritation in papaya harvesters and pollens of papaya has also induced severe respiratory tract infections in sensitive persons. These people may react when come in touch with papaya plant or when eat ripe papaya or papaya containing food. (2)

FOOD USES : Ripe papaya are eaten fresh,

seeded, peeled cut in wedges and served with lime. Flesh is often shaped and cubed and served in fruit salad. Papaya riped flesh is commonly used in pie cakes, ice-cream , pickles , marmalade and jams. Young leaves are cooked and eaten like spinach in east indies.(13)

MEDICOBOTANICAL USESCarica papaya  is an evergreen flowering tree

that is valued for its buttery fruit that is believed to offer many health benefits.

Carica papaya has wide role in medicine industry, used to cure many diseases , effective in many health issues from simple digestive issues to cancer treatment.

Carica papaya medicinal importance cannot be denied described ahead are some common medicobotanical uses of Carica papaya.

DENGUE : Subenthiran et al. conducted a study

to investigate platelets increasing property of Carica papaya leaf juice (CPL J) in dengue fever (DF) and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) patients. They concluded that CPL J does significantly increase platlet counts in DF and DHF patients.(10)

Ahmed et al. also found Carica papaya leaves extract having potential Activity of increasing platlets against dengue fever in their study.(11)

ANTI-CANCER EFFECT:  In a study that exposed 10 different types of

cancers--including cervix, breast, liver, lung, and pancreas-- extract made from dried papaya leaves was reported to slow down tumor growths. While one mechanism suggested apoptosis induction as a mechanism, the extract also boosted the production of key signaling molecules called Th-1 type cytokines. Results suggest a potential therapeutic strategy that uses the immune system to fight cancers and a use for various inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. Also, the extract showed no toxicity on normal cells. (12)

ANTI-OXIDANT AND ANTIULCER:  Study of the aqueous extract on alcohol-induced

acute damage and the immediate blood oxidative stress level in rats showed that Cp may potentially serve as a good therapeutic agent against gastric ulcer and oxidative stress. 

WOUND HEALING PROPERTY/ LATEX:  Study showed the papaya latex formulated in

the Carbopol gel, based on hydroxyproline content, wound contraction and epithelialization time, to be effective in the treatment of burns and supports its traditional use

DRIED SEED/ANTHELMINTIC : Study evaluated air-dried papaya seeds on human

intestinal parasitosis showed efficacious results without significant side effects.

ANTIMICROBIAL/ LEAVES: Study evaluated various extract of dried and fresh

leaves of C. papaya against bacteria and fungi of medical importance. Results showed a very significant broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and fungi. Organic extracts were more effective than aqueous extracts. 

ANTIDIARRHEAL /FRUIT: (1)IMMUNOSTIMULANT/ANTIOXIDANT(2)ANTIHYPERTENSIVE/ ROOT BARK: (3)ANTIMUTAGENIC/RUTIN: (4)ANTI-TUMOR/IMMUNOMODULATORY: (5)ANTHELMINTIC / LATEX/ POULTRY

NEMATODES (6)NEPHROPROTECTIVE PROPERTY/ SEEDS :

(7)

CONCLUSION :Carica papaya plant is although used mainly

as food in different forms , used commercially ( wine industry ) but its mainly known for its use in medicinal importance curing many of the diseases from simple wounds to anticancer activity. Today Carica papaya leaf extract is given to dengue patients to increase the number of platlets. Researchers worked a lot on medicinal outcome of Carica papaya now there is need to use this research in practical field .

Citation : Ahmad S.M., T.S. Gouda. A study on antidiarrheal

activity of fruit extract of Carica papaya (caricaceae) L. in rats.pharmacy infopedia (46).

Kadry Mohamed Sadek.2012.Antioxidant and immunostimulant effect of Carica papaya L. aquous extract Acrylamide intoxicated rats, 20(3), 180-185

* Ravikant T., G. Nishant, S. Shashipal, T. Samriti, T. R. Kumar, V.Vikas, S. Dishant.2012.Antihypertensive effect of ethanolic extract of Indian Carica papaya L. root bark (caricaceae) in renal artery occluded hypertensive rats. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, 4(3): 20-23

 Kalil, I.C.,B.A.V. Gibson,C.A. Ribeiro,L.S. Benincá,G.A. Brasil, T.U.Andrade,M.C.P. Batitucci and D.C. Endringer*.  2011.Antimutagenic activity of Carica papaya L. assayed in vivo by micronucleus test, 32(3):419-423

Otsukia, N., N. H. Dangb, E. Kumagaia, A. Kondoc, S. Iwataa, C.Morimoto.2010.Aquous extract of Carica papaya leaves exhibit anti tumor activity and immune modulatory effects.Journal of ethnopharmacology,127,760-767.

  Adu O.A., K.A. Akingboye and A. Akinfemi .2009.Potency of pawpaw (Carica papaya) latex as an anthelmintic in poultry production. Botany Research International, 2 (3), 139-142.

Olagunju, J.A., , A.A. Adeneyeb , B.S. Fagbohunkac , N.A. Bisugac , A.O. Ketikuc , A.S. Benebod , O.M. Olufowobic , A.G. Adeoyec , M.A. Alimic , A.G. Adelekec.2009. Nephroprotective activities of the aqueous seed extract of Carica papaya Linn. in carbon tetrachloride induced renal injured Wistar rats: a dose- and time-dependent study. Biology and medicine Nigeria , vol 1 (1), 11-19

Okunola A. A.*, M. T. Haruna, C. P. Anokwuru, T. Jegede, H. Abia, V. U. Okegbe and B. E. Esan.2012.Comparative studies on antimicrobial properties of extract of fresh and dried leaves of Carica papaya L. on clinical bacterial and fungal isolates Advances in Applied Science Research, 3 (5):3107-3114

Okeniyi, J.A., T.A.ogunlesi, O.A. Oyelami, L.A.Adevemi .2007. Effectiveness of dried Carica papaya seeds against human intestinal parasitosis: a pilot study.

Subenthiran, s., T.C.choon, K.C.cheong, R.thayan, M.B.teck, P.K.Muniandy,A.Afzan, N.R.Abdullah and Z.Ismail.2013. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Ahmed, N., H.Fazal, M. ayaz,B.H.Abbasi, I. Mohammad and L.fazal.2011.Asian pak J Trop BioMed.1 (4), 330-333.

Papaya extract thwarts growth of cancer cells in lab test. Mar. 10, 2010 /University of Florida

Mortan, j. 1987. Fruits of warm climates.