European Journal of Medicinal Plants

The Carica papaya (C. papaya) fruits consumption is common, but the peels and seeds are discarded as wastes. Thus, this study determined and compared some nutritive and antifungal properties of the C. papaya fruit peels and seeds. Results showed that vitamin A (IU) content in the peels was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that in the seeds. However, the content of vitamin B₁, B₂ and B₃ in the peels was non-significantly (p>0.05) higher than those in the seeds. The content of each of the determined minerals viz: Potassium, calcium, magnesium and sodium was higher (p<0.05) in the peels than in the seeds. In either sample, potassium content was highest followed by calcium, magnesium and sodium. The aqueous extract of the peels had highest activity against C. albicans while that of seeds had no activity against F. oxysporum. The aqueous extract of the peels had higher (p<0.05) activity against the tested fungi compared to that of the seeds. The ethanol extract of the peels had highest activity against C. albicans while the ethanol extract of the seeds had no activity against C. albicans. The ethanol extract of the peels had higher (p<0.05) activity against the C. albicans and A. flavus compared to that of the seeds. However, the ethanol extract of the seeds had higher (p<0.05) activity against F. oxysporum compared to that of the peels. The ethanol extract of the peels had higher activity against the tested fungi compared to the aqueous extract of the peels and seeds. There was no activity (0.00 mm) for the ethanol and aqueous extracts of the seeds against C. albicans and F. oxysporum respectively. In conclusion, the C. papaya peels could be a better source than the seeds for these nutrients, notably vitamin A, sodium and potassium while the peels extracted notably with ethanol could offer higher antifungal activity against the studied fungi. The higher activity of the ethanol extract of the seeds against               F. oxysporum deserves a follow up.