ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Mineral composition, Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Activities of the Crude Extract of Leaves of Carica papaya L.

Carica papaya L. (family Caricaceae) commonly known as papaya is a well-known fruit crop also having under-utilized medicinal potential. Mineral analysis shows that a significant level of potassium (207.10±0.40 mg/100g) and phosphorous (65.60±0.59 mg/100g) are present. Antioxidant activity of hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanol crude leaf extracts were evaluated. IC₅₀ hexane fraction (321.82±0.78) demonstrated the highest ABTS radical scavenging activity and IC50 of the chloroform fraction (623.23±1.32) showed the strongest DPPH free radical scavenging activity and their activities were stronger than that of ascorbic acid. Ethanolic extract IC₅₀ shows significant anti-inflammatory activity (173.66±1.24) when compared with other extract fractions. The present study signifies that the leaves of C. papaya are rich in minerals and known to possess significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This shall be further explored to identify novel bioactive substances with pharmaceutical applications.