TITLE:
Determination of the Mineral Composition of the Pulp and Evaluation of the Acute Toxicity of the Seeds of Carica papaya L. Consumed in Lubumbashi and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
AUTHORS:
Guelord Inkalaba, Janvier Arnauld Kiza, Magain Mihatano, Mathilde Bushiri Furaha, Arthur Duki, Olivier Nzingula, Armelle Naniwambote, Maguy Luvandu, Nicole Misengabu, Désiré Musuyu, Fridolin Kodondi Kule-Koto
KEYWORDS:
Carica papaya, Mineral Composition, Acute Toxicity
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.12 No.9,
September
27,
2024
ABSTRACT: This work aimed, on the one hand, to determine the mineral and phytochemical composition of Carica papaya in order to guarantee the food safety of consumers and on the other hand, to evaluate the acute toxicity of papaya seeds. The papayas were bought at the Mzée market in Lubumbashi and Selembao in Kinshasa. Fruit sampling was done according to the ISO 7002 standard on agricultural and food products; the papayas were firm, mature, and without stains or physical damage. The analysis results of the papaya pulp showed both for the samples from the city of Lubumbashi and for the city province of Kinshasa that it contains respectively 85.87% and 84.46% water, 0.59% and 0.53% ash content. The mineral evaluation of our two samples presented a potassium content of 200 ± 8 mg, magnesium 13.12 ± 3 mg, calcium 22.15 ± 2 mg, sodium 3 mg ± 0.5 for the sample from Lubumbashi and 192.32 ± 8 mg of potassium, 14.458 ± 3 mg of magnesium, 20.58 ± 2 mg of calcium and 3.58 ± 0.5 mg of sodium for the sample from Kinshasa in macroelements. Concerning the trace elements, after analysis, we found zinc content (0.29 ± 0.1 mg and 0.12 ± 0.1 mg), copper (0.02 ± 0.01 mg and 0.14 ± 0.01 mg), and iron (2.22 ± 0.5 mg and 2.04 ± 0.5 mg) respectively for Lubumbashi and Kinshasa. The chemical screening indicates the presence of alkaloids, saponosides, tannins catechics, flavonoids and anthocyanins in the palm wine and ethanolic extract of the seeds of Carica papaya and an absence of cyanogenic glycosides and gallic tannins. With mild toxicity, the seeds of the fruit of Carica papaya L. can be used with moderate risk by the population.