Chemical composition and biological activities of Carica papaya L. essential and fatty oils

The genus Carica L. (Caricaceae) is presented by 22 species of which Carica papaya L. is the most widely cultivated and best-known species. Its homeland is Middle and South America. Papaya is consumed as good and known for its nutritional values all over the world. Besides, medicinal uses is also common. It is used as antimicrobial, antihelmintic, antifungal, hepatoprotective and diuretic. In this study, it was aimed to analyze chemical compositions of C. papaya fatty and essential oils. Essential oils (EOs) from leaf, ripe and unripe fruits of C. papaya were obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger type apparatus. The essential oils were analyzed by both Gas chromatography/Flame ionization dedector (GC/FID) and Gas chromatography/Mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Benzyl isothiocyanate (86.3%; 100%; 94.4%) was found as the main constituents of the EOs of C. papaya leaf, ripe and unripe fruits, respectively. Fatty acids (FAs) were extracted with n-hexane in a Soxhlet apparatus and after the methylation procedure the chemical compositions were determined by GC and GC/MS. The major FAs of both dried and fresh seeds of C. papaya were oleic acid (72.0%; 70.0%), palmitic acid (15.0%; 16.4%), linoleic acid (5.3%; 5.1%), respectively. The EOs and FAs were tested for antimicrobial properties against different microbial strains by the agar disk well diffusion method. The EOs and FAs showed weak antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (NRRL B-3008), Bacillus subtilis (NRRL-B4378) ve Candida albicans (ATCC 10231).