Fiber-rich papaya

Native to Central and South America, papaya is available year around and packed with fiber and other nutrients.

The flesh of papaya is soft and easy to digest and is packed with a good amount of dietary fiber. Statistically one medium papaya would contain approximately 5 grams of fiber.

The fiber in papaya converts a substance called homocysteine into harmless amino acids that the body can process, but without the breakdown, homocysteine can eventually damage blood vessels walls, causing strokes or heart attacks.

Other effects of dietary fiber consumption are reduction in blood cholesterol levels and decreased risk of developing cancer. Fiber travels though the body and binds itself to cancer-causing toxin in the colon.

The fiber in papaya flushes out the toxins in the colon and so one of the benefits of papaya is that it helps prevent colon cancer especially, due to antioxidants and its fiber content.
Fiber-rich papaya

Chemical composition of papaya

Analysis of the fruit gave moisture 89.6 %, proteins 0.5%, carbohydrate 9.5%m, ether extract 0.1%, mineral matter 0.4%, calcium 0.01%, phosphorus 0.01%, and iron 0.4 mg/100 gm.

The high content of water in the papaya almost as a melon (92%), This is why some call it the ‘tropical melon’.

The chemical composition of papaya fruit with respect to sugars, organic, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals change during ripening.

Most of its carbohydrates are formed from sugars: saccharose, glucose and fructose.

The fresh fruit pulp contains sucrose, invert sugar, a resinous substance, papain, malic acid and salts of tartaric and citric acids 1.2 per cent.

The dry matter which was 7% at 15 days after pollination, increased to 13% at harvest.

Both ripe and unripe papaya fruit is a rich source of pectins.

Papaya is a source of calcium, and an excellent source of vitamin A and C. The B vitamins are also present in small amounts.

Papaya’s fruit and seed have been shown to possess bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Shigella flexneri.

Chemical composition of papaya