A comparative study of bioactive potentials in pulp and peel of unripe Carica papaya L. fruit
Paper Details
A comparative study of bioactive potentials in pulp and peel of unripe Carica papaya L. fruit
Abstract
This study investigates the comparative antibacterial and antioxidant potentials of the pulp and peel of unripe Carica papaya L. fruit. Methanol and acetone extracts of both parts were evaluated for their activity against multiple drug-resistant bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp, Salmonella sp., and Shigella sp.) using the disc diffusion method. The peel exhibited a higher antibacterial activity with a maximum zone of inhibition of 16.2 mm compared to the pulp’s 14.4 mm; however, standard Kanamycin (30μg/disc) showed >30 mm. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranged from 200-300 mg/ml for peel and 250-350 mg/ml for pulp, while minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was also lower in peel (500-600 mg/ml) than pulp (550-700 mg/ml). Furthermore, the peel demonstrated superior antioxidant activity with a DPPH scavenging rate of 23.02%, compared to the pulp’s 5.34%, although ascorbic acid exhibited 100% scavenging at 100μg/ml. Peel also showed a lower IC50 value (61.035 µg/ml) than pulp (150.466 µg/ml) in DPPH assay, while ascorbic acid had an IC50 of 37.062 µg/ml. Total phenolic content was higher in peel (32.50 mgL-1 GAE/g dry material) than pulp (21.25 mgL-1 GAE/g dry material). These findings suggest that papaya peel is richer in bioactive compounds and could be effectively utilized for its antibacterial and antioxidant properties, highlighting its potential as a valuable natural resource rather than being wasted.
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