Nutraceutical Potential of Carica papaya in Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract

Carica papaya L. is a well-known fruit worldwide, and its highest production occurs in tropical and subtropical regions. The pulp contains vitamins A, C, and E, B complex vitamins, such as pantothenic acid and folate, and minerals, such as magnesium and potassium, as well as food fibers. Phenolic compounds, such as benzyl isothiocyanate, glucosinolates, tocopherols (α and δ), β-cryptoxanthin, β-carotene and carotenoids, are found in the seeds. The oil extracted from the seed principally presents oleic fatty acid followed by palmitic, linoleic and stearic acids, whereas the leaves have high contents of food fibers and polyphenolic compounds, flavonoids, saponins, pro-anthocyanins, tocopherol, and benzyl isothiocyanate. Studies demonstrated that the nutrients present in its composition have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, protecting it against cardiovascular illnesses and preventing harm caused by free radicals. It has also been reported that it aids in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and in the reduction of cholesterol levels. Thus, both the pulp and the other parts of the plant (leaves and seeds) present antioxidant, anti-hypertensive, hypoglycemic, and hypolipidemic actions, which, in turn, can contribute to the prevention and treatment of obesity and associated metabolic disorders.

A Review of Omics Technologies and Bioinformatics to Accelerate Improvement of Papaya Traits

“…The identification of metabolites among these papaya cultivars is important in order to identify the cultivar with the essential metabolites that are associated with quality traits (i.e., sweetness and ripening) that subsequently are to be applied in papaya breeding programmes. For example, carotenoids, tocopherols, and glucosinolates are highly abundant in papaya, and all of them are sources of antioxidants [95,96]. The identification of unique metabolites in a papaya cultivar has highlighted the importance of the chemical marker in authenticating papaya-based food products [94].…”

Papaya improves non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese rats by attenuating oxidative stress, inflammation and lipogenic gene expression

“…Papaya is a nutraceutical plant with many medicinal properties. Some studies have reported its health benefits including the treatment of gastrointestinal related disorders, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and hepatotoxicity, and its anti-microbial, anti-parasitic, and anti-viral properties[ 7 , 8 ]. Almost all parts of papaya can be used, especially the fruit of C. papaya .…”

Analysis of Soil Quality Status and Accumulation of Potentially Toxic Element in Food Crops Growing at Fecal Sludge Dumpsite in Ubakala, Nigeria

“…It (vegetables) also supply alkaline substance in the body to maintain acid-base balance (Funke, 2011), serve as medicine to reducing the risk of chronic diseases (Gosslau and Chen, 2004;Lee et al, 2008) cancer, blood pressure and high cholesterol (Antonious et al, 2009). Carica papaya contains enzymes, minerals (Santana et al, 2019), phytochemicals such as polyphenols, phenols, flavonoids, carotenoid, Lycopene, betacarotinoid, benzylisothyocynate, betacryptoxanthin, benzylglucosinolate, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, protocatachuic acid, Quercetin and traditional antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin C and E (Pinnamaneni, 2017). It (pawpaw) also contain hymopapain and papain which are widely used for digestive disorders (Huet et al, 2006), antihelminthic and anti-amoebic (Okeniyi et al, 2007), while leaf decoction is administered as a purgative for horses and used for the treatment of genito-urinary system (Pinnamaneni, 2017).…”