Matrix Science Pharma (MSP)

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants are common in our environment and have been useful in traditional medicine. The present study was conducted to evaluate the mineral content, the phytochemical, and antimicrobial properties of Carica papaya seed extracts on clinical isolates. The C. papaya seeds were sourced from fruits sellers from the Ekosodin community in Ovia North East Local Government, Benin City, Edo State. The seeds were air-dried for 14 days. The extract was obtained by maceration using distilled water and ethanol as solvents. The results of the mineral composition for both aqueous and ethanolic extracts indicated that sodium, potassium, calcium, zinc, copper, phosphorus, nitrogen, chromium, and iron were present. The phytochemical screening for both aqueous and ethanolic extracts indicated the presence of compounds such as saponins, phenolics, alkaloids, and flavonoids. The antimicrobial assay revealed that C. papaya seed extracts had good antimicrobial properties with a minimum inhibition of 100mg/mL observed in Staphylococcus epidermidis and Bacillus subtilis for the aqueous extract, 1.04mg/ml S. epidermidis and B. subtilis, and 2.08mg/ml Candida spp. for the ethanol extract. The minimum bactericidal concentration of the ethanol extract in this study was 4.16mg/ml for S. epidermidis and 8.33mg/ml for B. subtilis, and the minimum fungicidal concentration was 8.33mg/ml for Candida spp. The results from this study indicated that C. papaya seeds possess sufficient mineral components and phytochemical components, indicating their potential use as supplementary antimicrobial agents and essential nutrients for both humans and animals.