Abstract

AN OVERVIEW OF CARICA PAPAYA L. SEEDS

S. Sundar*, K. Padmalatha, Sk. Apsana, P. Himaja, V. Nandini and D. Sirisha

ABSTRACT

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is a well known for its exceptional nutritional and medicinal properties throughout the world. From the times immemorial, the whole Papaya plant including its leaves, seeds, ripe and unripe fruits and their juice is used as traditional medicine. Carica papaya L. is a member of Caricaceae Family. This family comprises of 31 species in the four genera: three genera from America (Carica, Jacaritia and Jarilla) and one from equatorial Africa (Cylicomorpha). Papaya seeds have the numerous activities like Antihelmentic, Antiamoebic, Wound Healing, Anti Ulcer, Male Antifertility, Antibacterial, Antitumor and free radical scavenging activities. The papaya seed contain fatty acids, crude protein, crude fibre, papaya oil, carpaine, caricin, glucotropaeolin, benzyl glucosinolates, benzyl Isothiocyanate, benzyl thiourea, hentriacontane, ß-sitostrol, caressing and an enzyme myrosin. The present review focuses on salient features of nutritional composition, health benefits, medical advantages, and synthetic constituents of papaya seeds.

Keywords: Carica papaya Linn, Papaya seeds, Nutraceutical, Wound healing.