Antidiabetic potential of Carica papaya L. and its constituents: From folkloric uses to products development

Carica papaya L. is a plant that has a reputation for being antidiabetic. This review is focused on antidiabetic properties of Carica papaya. A comprehensive search was performed using various electronic databases including Researchgate, PubMed, Google Scholar, Biomedgrid.com and ScienceDirect. 224 publications were downloaded, out of which one 107 relevant publications were reviewed. The fruit, leaves, and seeds of this plant have been reported to possess antidiabetic properties at different dosages via in vivo, in vitro, and ex vivo studies. Fortified papaya cake, MPPB flour (containing C. papaya), and brotowali extract (fortified papaya leaves and sugarcane extracts) displayed significant hypoglycaemic effect. From a clinical trial, the fruit consumed after meals significantly reduced blood glucose level in a quasi-experimental study. Some bioactive compounds found in the plant's extracts have been linked to the antidiabetic effect of the plant. It has been discovered that the leaf extract contains hypoglycemic saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, triterpenoids, and tannins. Few compounds with antidiabetic characteristics have been identified from the extracts of this plant's seeds, including hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester, 11-octadecenoic acid, N, N-dimethyl-, n-hexadecanoic acid, and oleic acid. Therefore, pawpaw fruit consumption might help to mitigate the symptoms of diabetes. For the development of new natural remedies for management and prevention of diabetes, additional studies, particularly those on the isolation of antidiabetic principles from various portions of C. papaya, will be crucial.Keywords:Carica papaya; Antidiabetics; Phytoconstituents; Clinical trials; Papaya products