Antioxidant potential and mineral elemental profiling of young and mature fruit and leaf of Carica papaya L. cultivar 'Red Lady'

Introduction

Carica papaya is an economically important fruit crop belonging to the family Caricaceae. In this study, we assessed the antioxidant potential and mineral element composition of mature and young fruits, as well as leaves, of the ‘Red Lady’ cultivar of C. papaya.

Materials and methods

The DPPH free radical scavenging assay and the FRAP assay were used to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the crude methanolic extract and its butanolic fraction from the mature and young fruit parts and leaf of the C. papaya. The mineral elemental composition was analyzed through ICP-MS analysis.

Results

DPPH assay showed that butanolic fraction of young leaves (97±1.155%) and seeds (96.33± 0.8819%) exhibited superior antioxidant potential, followed by mature leaves (81.33 ± 1.856%), mature seeds (72.67± 0.8819%), mature pulp (51±1.155%), young pulp (43.67±2.028%), young peel (34.33±1.202%), and mature peel (30±2.309%). Assessment of metal reducing activity using FRAP assay revealed a similar pattern of antioxidant potential as demonstrated by the DPPH assay. The IC-PMS analysis identified eleven elements in both mature and young fruit parts and leaves of the plant. These elements include potassium (K), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), and cobalt (Co). In both mature and young parts of the fruit, as well as in young leaves, potassium (33,874.68 ± 0.0013 mg kg^-1 to 8365.31 ± 0.00049 mg kg^-1) was the most abundant element. It was followed by magnesium (14,255.82 ± 0.000282 mg kg^-1 to 474.92 ± 0.00125 mg kg^-1) and then calcium (9857.51 ± 0.00049 mg kg^-1 to 366.84 ± 0.00088 mg kg^-1). However, in mature leaves, magnesium (14,255.82 ± 0.000282 mg kg^-1) was the most prevalent, followed by calcium (9857.51 ± 0.00049 mg kg^-1).

Conclusion

This research revealed the antioxidant and metal-reducing properties of both mature and young C. papaya fruit and leaves. These findings underscore the nutraceutical potential of C. papaya in combating diseases related to oxidative stress. Furthermore, the presence of essential mineral nutrients in both the young and mature fruit and leaves enhances their health benefits.