PAKISTAN IS blessed with various environments for the cultivation of variety of fruits and vegetable. The southern parts of Pakistan are appropriate for citrus, mango, banana and other tropical fruits like papaya whilst the north and north-western parts provide suitable conditions for temperate fruits like grapes, apple, apricot etc. Papaya mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world however in Pakistan, province of Sindh and Punjab are rich in lush green orchards of papaya.
Coastal areas of Sindh province and Malir area of Karachi have been growing papaya on marketable scale. Papaya grown in Thatta and Malir Districts of Sindh are known for their sweetness and size. Annual production of papaya in Pakistan is 8000 tones. Papaya (Carica papaya L.) adherent to the family Caricaceae which has been developed up in Bharat, Philippines, South Africa, Australia, Ceylon, East Pakistan, Malaya, Hawaii and in other countries.
Papaya offers not only the delicious taste but it has ample source of antioxidant components such as ascorbic acid, carotenes and flavonoids, the B complex vitamins, folic acid and pantothen, the minerals (magnesium, potassium) and fiber.
Papaya contains mainly two types of amino alkanoic acid, amino acid and glutamic acid. Amino acid is present in large quantity as compared to glutamic acid. Papaya consists of a number of organic acids in which the major organic acid is citric acid followed by qiunic acid, L-malic acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid and ethanedioic acid. Papaya has rich availability of carotenoid compounds. Flesh colour of papaya is due to carotenoids.
There are three types of carotenoids namely beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin and zeta-carotene found in papaya fruit. Pawpaw is regarded as an outstanding source of ascorbic acid, riboflavin and a fair source of iron, calcium, thiamin, nicotinic acid, pantothen, pyridoxal and naphthaquinone. Ripe papaya fruit is also an excellent source of both soluble and insoluble source of dietary fiber. Macro-minerals have Ca, Mg, Na, K and P. Micro-minerals include Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn and Se is present in papaya fruit.Papaya fruit has a lot of love. It is honored by ‘The Fruit of Angels’ by Christopher Columbus.
Papaya have highly nutritional value per 100g, gives energy 163 KJ, carbohydrates 9.81g, sugar 5.90g, dietary fiber 1.8g, protein 0.61g, fat 0.14g, vitamin C 62 mg and minerals approximately 30 mg. Papaya also contains low amount of anti-nutrient like oxalate, phytate and tannine, also contain natural toxicants present in papaya fruit such as benzyl isothiocyanate, benzyl glucosinolate and alkaloids. There are different type of cysteine endopeptidases such as papain, chymopapain, glycol endopeptidases and caricain. Papaya proteases consists of four related molecular weight cysteine-proteases, which donate 69–89% of total protein, up to 10 % of papain, 14–26 % of caricain, 23–28 % of glycyl-endopeptidase and 26–30 % of chymopapain.
Papain is plant protease enzyme present in papaya latex, papaya peel, papaya leaves and seeds. Papain recovery in each fruit is 8.17 g and rich amount of papain per plant is 686.29 g during a time of 6 months. Molecular weight of papain is 23.406 daltons, Optimum pH as well as temperature ranging between 3-9 and 65- 80°C. Papain, cysteine protease hydrolase enzyme is very resistant and severe, which consists of number of amino acids in the range of 212-218 and shows a great degree of homologous.Structure of papain composed of a single polypeptide chain having 3 disulfide bridges and papain enzymatic activity can be determined through sulfhydryl group. It was suggested that papain with 0.025% concentration at 3% level (w/w) can be utilized to develop better tenderness and functional properties of spent hen meat cuts for efficient utilization.
Papain displays broad proteolytic action against the proteins, short chain peptides, esters and amide associations and is used widely for the area of food and pharmaceutical. Papain is also used as meat tenderizer in meat products to soft the hard meat. Papain is used as meat tenderizer to improve the texture, flavor, color, taste and overall acceptability in beef kababs, duck patties, chicken nuggets and other meat products. Papain is also used as natural preservatives to increase the shelf life of meat products like beef kababs by inhibiting the pathogenic microorganisms like Salmonella typhimuriumand E.coli.
Papain acts as a debris-removing agent, with no harmful impact on sound tissues due to enzyme’s specificity, acting individually on the tissues that lack the a1-antitripsine plasmatic anti-protease that inhibits chemical change in healthy tissues. Papain-based gel has conjointly been reported as a possible helpful in organic chemistry excavation procedures for dentin.
There is a long history of enzyme to treat sports injuries, different causes of trauma and allergies. Luckilly papain includes a verified log in managing all of those conditions with clinical proof of great advantages in cases of sports injury and minor injuries cured well quicker with this enzyme protease than with placebos. Moreover, athlete’s utilized this enzyme as supplements to reduce the recovery time from eight days to four days. Allergies associated with hypochloridria (in sufficient stomach acid), gut syndrome and intestinal symbiosis like gluten intolerance are overcome by papain.
Enzyme has antecedently been reported to utilize as pain killer and anti-inflammatory potential against symptoms of acute allergic rubor like headache and tooth pain with no harmful effect. Papain is additionally used as hair conditioner. Leaves of Carica papaya is employed as soap substitute that is used to eradicate the dyes and color.
Papain has macromolecule digesting and milk clotting, degumming natural silk, beer chill-haze removal, cleansing silks and wools before dying, Papain is also used in chewing gums, removing hair from hides throughout tanning, extracting oil from tuna liver, used in dentifrices, shampoos and face-lifting preparations or utilized in the production of rubber. Enzyme is employed for pain and swelling moreover as for fluid retention following trauma and surgery. Enzymes are also used as an organic process aid and for treating parasitic worms, inflammation of the throat and diarrhea, hay fever, dengue fever and a skin condition. They’re conjointly used with typical treatments for tumors. Individually apply on the skin to infect the wounds, sores and ulcers.