Extraction of Papain from Latex of Carica papaya L. (papaya) Fruits

Abstract

Papain is an enzyme of significant biological and economic importance. Papain shows extensive proteolytic activity towards proteins, amino acid esters and amide links and its applications in the fields of food and medicine are ever emerging. In the present study, we extracted the papain from latex of papaya fruit (Carica papaya L.). Presence of papain in papaya latex was confirmed by the coagulation of milk. The protein content latex extract of papain was found to be 51.4 μg/ml.