Phytochemicals, Physico-Chemical and Fatty Acid Composition of Oil Extracted from Carica Papaya (Papaw) Seed

Abstract

Carica Papaya is an economically important tropical herbaceous plant with numerous biological activities. In local medicine, different parts of C. Papaya (leaves, stems, roots, fruits, and seeds) are utilized in the treatment of various ailments. The seeds are rich in fibre and thus have the ability to regulate our bowel movements, removing toxins from the body and maintaining a healthy gut. The carpain present in Carica papaya helps kill bacteria and parasites thus keeping our digestive system healthy. This study investigated the phytochemicals, physicochemical properties, and fatty acid characterization of oil extracts of Carica Papaya (Papaw) Seed flour. Fatty acid composition was determined using a Gas chromatograph (model 8700; Perkin Elmer) and phytochemicals as well as physicochemical properties were determined using standard analytical methods. The results of the physicochemical properties of the oil were 2.810 ±1.040 mg KOH/g for acid value, iodine value 22.000 ±8.000, peroxide values 17.000 ±2.646b, Free fatty acid (FFA)0.180 ±0.009a mEq/kg, refractive index1.335 ±1.010aand specific gravity 0.895 ±0.052a. The low acid, free fatty acid and peroxide value suggested the edibility of oil and stability to oxidative rancidity during storage. The fatty acid profile revealed that the oil contained appreciable amount of unsaturated fatty acids such as Oleic acid (13.420 ±0.026%), Linoleic acid, 24.640 ±0.040 %, Linolenic Acid 4.750 ±0.026 c%, Arachidonic acid, 2.950 ±0.160b and Palmitoleic acid 2.290 ± 0.173 % with Linoleic acid, being the most abundant fatty acid. However. the result of total fatty acid composition showed that seed oil contained relatively the same amount of unsaturated fatty (48.05 %) and saturated fatty acid (51.95%), thus making it nutritionally important if properly refined and industrially valuable. The results in this study suggested the C. papaya seed might be incorporated into existing foods, to solve the problems of malnutrition and other health related issue.