Therapeutic potential, formulation strategies and cancer treatment applications of ripe papaya pectin (Carica papaya L.): A comprehensive review

Abstract

This review presents a critical appraisal of ripe papaya pectin (Carica papaya L.) (RPP) as a multifaceted biopolymer for cancer treatment, highlighting its structural complexity, bioactivity, and pharmaceutical potential. RPP, with its high molecular weight polysaccharide composition of galacturonic acid and homogalacturonan rhamnogalacturonan domains, possesses significant antitumor activity through galectin-3 inhibition, activation of caspase-3, and immunomodulatory release of cytokines. The review examines cutting-edge extraction techniques, i.e., microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), enzymatic hydrolysis, and solvent systems and how they extensively influence the molecular weight distribution (20–150 kDa), methylation level, and bioavailability. This review recognizes major formulation challenges to the clinical usefulness of ripe papaya pectin (RPP), specifically to delivering pH-responsive, target-specific drug release with low systemic toxicity. RPP-derived nanocarriers micelles, hydrogels, and liposomes exhibit improved cellular uptake, sustained release, and physicochemical stability. Methods such as FTIR, HPLC, and NMR reveal structural properties associated with therapeutic performance. Preclinical experiments validate RPP's selective cytotoxicity against tumour cells with minimal effect on healthy tissue. This paper suggests that RPP, optimally tailored through biofunctionalization and refined delivery design, spans nutraceutical potential and oncological use, and presents robust translational capacity as a low-toxicity, biocompatible foundation in future cancer therapeutics.