ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants represent the most ancient form of medication, used for thousands of years in traditional medicine in many countries around the world. Papaya (Carica papaya Linn.) is one of the most cultivated plants in tropical countries and the most popular and economically important species among the caricaceae family. Medicinal properties may be present in one or all of their parts: root, stem, bark, leaf, flower, fruit or seed. This study was aimed at evaluating the proximatecontent, phytochemicalproperties and the antimicrobial properties of the seed extracts of Carica papaya on some clinical isolates. The papaya seeds were obtained and grinded into a powder and analysed for phytochemical content. The powdered papaya seed was used in the formulation of different concentrations of aqueous and ethanolic plant extract. The extracts were tested for it’s antimicrobial activity (using agar well diffusion method), minimal bacteriocidal concentration (MBC) and its minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). The results shows that ethanolic extract gave the best antimicrobial activity as it was more efficient in preventing microbial growth at lower concentrations compared to the aqueous extract. This shows that the antimicrobial ability of the extracts were majorly dose dependent. The agar well diffusion method used reveals antimicrobial activity of the ethanolic extract against, Staphylococcus epidermis,   Bacillus substillisand Aspergilus niger and candida albicans, whilethe aqueous extract majorly inhibited the growthof E.coli, Klebsiella and Enterobacter spp. Minimum bacteriocidal concentration (MBC) for Staphylococcus epidermis was 4.16 while Bacillus substillis was 8.3 mg/ml respectively. The MBC for Candida albicans was 8.3 mg/ml. However, further studies are warranted to validate the dosage, mode of actions, and safety profile of papaya seeds when used as medicine.