ABSTRACT
Medicinal plants represent the most ancient form of medication, used for thousands of years in traditional medicine in many countries around the world. This study was aimed evaluating the nutrient content, proximate content phytochemical properties and the antimicrobial properties of the seed extracts of Carica papaya (linn)on some clinical isolates. The papaya seeds were obtained and grinded into a powder and maceration method was used to get the aqueous and ethanolic extracts. The results of mineral composition revealed the presence of sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, nitrogen, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. The proximate results revealed that Moisture was 13.43 % for aqueous and 12.56 % for ethanol, ash content was 5.97 % for aqueous and 6.17 % for ethanol, crude fibre was 23.78 % for aqueous and 25.23 % for ethanol, crude protein aqueous 29.85 and 31.26 % for ethanol, crude fat for aqueous 30.11 % and 20.63 % for ethanol, carbohydrate for aqueous 10.29 % and 08.71 % for ethanol. The qualitative analysis revealed that alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins and phenols were present for both aqueous and ethanol. The quantitative analysis revealed that flavonoids was higher for both aqueous and ethanol, while tannin was the lowest for aqueous and ethanol. 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.
