Abstract

Carica papaya commonly known as pawpaw is an edible fruit with many nutritional values known throughout the world. Apart from its rich vitamins and mineral content, some part of the plant has been known to have medicinal value. Fresh ripe pawpaw (Carica papaya) fruits were purchase from Birnin Kebbi main market in Kebbi state, Nigeria. The pawpaw fruits were washed, peeled and air-dried for fourteen (14) days at room temperature after which it was blended using mortar and pestle to homogenous state before analysis. The Phytochemical screening tested positive for flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, Cardiac glycosides, Saponins glycosides phenols, and glycosides while saponin and steroid were not detected. The proximate analysis of pawpaw (Carica papaya) showed that Carica papaya had a moisture content of 12.68%, the protein content of 8.280%, fibre content of 3.35%, ash content 4.83% and carbohydrate contents 68.777%. The result of the ascorbic acid (vitamin c) content shows that Carica papaya has a high vitamin C content of 28.35mg. It is therefore established that Carica papaya can serve as an important source of good nutrition as well as vitamins.