Antibacterial Activity of Fermenting Unripe Pawpaw Parts (Carica papaya) against Some Enteric Bacteria

Abstract

This research work was carried out to investigate the antibacterial activity of fermenting Carica papaya parts on some enteric organisms and their proximate and phytochemical screening. The unripe Carica papaya parts used were obtained from the Federal University of Technology Akure and the test organisms used are clinical isolates gotten from State Specialist Hospital, Akure. The unripe Carica papaya was separated into the leaves, peel, pulp and seed. It was then soaked in distilled water in separate fermenting jars for seven days. The following readings were taken daily; pH, titratable acidity while the Antibacterial effect of the fermenting slurry was monitored on day 1, 3, 5 and 7, using the agar well diffusion method. The result obtained showed that the pH decreases while the titratable acidity increases daily respectively. The zones of inhibition observed in the isolates were highest on day 3 and day 5, showing that the water from the fermenting unripe Carica papaya is more effective against the enteric isolates used for this research on day 3 and day 5. Therefore, water from fermenting unripe Carica papaya parts may be effective in treating infections from enteric organisms on day 3 and day 5. The peel and pulp were observed to be more effective while the seed had no antibacterial activity. Phytochemical analysis showed that the plant parts contained these active ingredients at various concentrations; alkaloids, tannins, saponins, glycosides and phenols.