Nutritional Composition in Different Accessions of Carica Papaya Fruits in Some Southern States of Nigeria

Akinrotimi CA and Nwofia EN

Published on: 2025-06-11

Abstract

Fruit consumption has increased worldwide because of its taste and health benefits due to the presence of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and some chemical compositions, which are needed by the human body for a healthy life. Papaya as a fruit is a rich source of these nutrients and is widely consumed in Nigeria. This study assessed the proximate, mineral, and vitamin compositions in different accessions of C. papaya fruits in some southern states of Nigeria. Matured fruits of C. papaya were collected from five southern Nigerian states, namely Abia, Imo, Rivers, Enugu, and Anambra. Six (6) accessions were collected per state, making a total of 30 accessions. Seeds were collected from each accession, dried, and later planted. After harvest, matured fruits of C. papaya were examined for proximate, vitamin, and mineral compositions in different accessions using standard laboratory methods. The data obtained were submitted to analysis of variance, The results indicated that moisture, ash, protein, fat, fiber, and carbohydrate ranged from 82.00 to 96.00%, 0.40 to 0.80%, 0.43 to 2.53%, 0.22 to 0.70%, 6.00 to 9.33%, and 39.33 to 66.67% for different accessions of C. papaya, respectively. The mineral composition in the fruits of Carica papaya was high in all the ascensions except iron and magnesium. Also, the vitamin concentrations were generally low in all the accessions, except for vitamin C, which was high and ranged from 33.33 g/100 g to 43.67 mg/100 g. However, it is evident from the results obtained from this study that C. papaya contained essential nutrients that are useful for human diet. The significant differences observed among the nutritional components in different accessions of C. papaya are an indication that genetic variation exists among the Carica papaya accessions for these nutrient traits. This suggests the possibility of improvement of any of these nutrient traits through breeding programs.