Chemical Analysis of <i>Carica papaya</i> L. Crude Latex

Crude latex of Carica papaya L. has been known to offer a lot of benefits and potentials especially in the agricultural industry and human health. This study focuses on the latex coming from its fruits of Papaya CX variety. Seven to eight longitudinal incisions were made in order to allow latex to appear and drain in the collecting devices. 439.5 g dried latex was stored in plastic containers and freezed. Results showed that dried latex contained higher amount of crude protein (57.24 ± 0.69%), followed by moisture (17.76 ± 0.09%), ash (7.00 ± 0.01%), crude fat (5.21 ± 0.13%) and crude fiber (0.67 ± 0.09%) based on the complete proximate analysis. In the enzyme analysis, papain had protease activity of 2655 units·g-1 at pH 5.5 and 285 units·g-1 at pH 9.0. These results provided evidence that papain as a protease enzyme is found in the crude latex of papaya which is a major constituent in various proteolytic activities. Crude latex from C. papaya L. can be utilized to address the issues in agricultural farms to accelerate production and reduce environmental hazards.