PERSPECTIVES OF PROCESSING PAPAYA (CARICA PAPAYA) FRUIT: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES

Papaya is a tropical fruit grown more prominently in recent years, production next to fruits such as mango, banana, citrus and pineapple at the global level. Even in India, the fruit is more common with a number of varieties. The fruit is characterise for its active pectinolytic enzymes during ripening. Papain, the proteolytic enzyme is of industrial importance. The fruit is known for its carotenoid content and retinol activity, to counteract vitamin A deficiency. Pro-vitamin A carotenoids average 232 μg beta-carotene and 594 μg beta-cryptoxanthin/100 g and vitamin A ranged from 18 to 74 µg RAE (retinol activity equivalents)/100 g. Lycopene content in the red-fleshed varieties ranged from 1350-3674 μg/100 g. Its vitamin C content is ~50 mg/100 g. Because of faster fruit softening consequent to ripening, and the recorded transportation losses up to 40%, the fruit requires conversion into processed products, to ensure extended storage, for transportation, trade and consumption. Juice, blended beverages, jam (including low calorie), jelly, dehydrated, osmo dried, cereal flakes, fruit bar, candy, restructured and intermediate moisture and frozen products could be developed from the fresh fruit, besides minimal processing. The fruit is known to reduce blood cholesterol. The pectin content of the fruit aids in jam preparation and easy setting. Varieties with low sweetness suit the diabetic patients. Because of the mild flavor of the fruit, the products can be supplemented with other strong flavors, to obtain tailor made sensorial products. Its fast growth in nature, higher yields and diverse range of varieties offer papaya fruit for development of economically viable products on commercial scale, with ample scope for blending with other fruits. The biochemical constituents of the fruit related to health benefits and the provision for development of wide spectrum of processed products dictate the scientific merit of the fruit, with national and international strategies for the future.