Papain from Papaya Papaya is a versatile plant having number of uses and enzymatic properties. It could also be called medical plant rendering high income to farmers. One can manufacture products like tutti-frutti, candy slices (murabba) and dehydrated papaya powder from raw papaya. Origin of Papaya Though the exact area of origin is unknown, papaya is believed to be a native to tropical America, perhaps in southern Mexico and neighbouring Central America. It is recorded that seeds were taken to Panama and then the Dominican Republic before 1525 and cultivation spread to warm elevations throughout South and Central America, southern Mexico, the West Indies and Bahamas and to Bermuda in 1616. Spaniards carried seeds to the Philippines about the year 1550 and the papaya traveled from there to Malacca and India. Seeds were sent from India to Naples in 1626. Now the papaya is familiar in nearly all tropical regions of the Old World and the Pacific Islands and has become naturalized in many areas. Seeds were probably brought to Florida from the Bahamas. Up to about 1959, the papaya was commonly grown in southern and central Florida in home gardens and on a small commercial scale. Thereafter, natural enemies seriously reduced the plantings. The latex of the papaya plant and its green fruits contains two proteolytic enzymes, papain and chymopapain. The latter is most abundant but papain is twice as potent. In 1933, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) was the leading commercial source of papain but it has been surpassed by East Africa where large-scale production began in 1937. Papain Papain is the only plant proteinase now being used as a protein digestant. It is used in combating dyspepsia and other digestive disorders. It is used in the manufacturer of
pharmaceutical preperations like glyc. Papain, elix papain, liquid papain and liver tonics. Papain finds extensive use in the manufacturer of proteolysed preperations of meat, liver and casein. In brewing industries it is also used in tenderizing meat and softening of leathers, degumming of natural silk and wool fabrics, chewing gums, tooth paste and cosmetics. Indigenous demand its 80-90% production is exported to USA and European countries, Western countries import purified papaya latex for further processing to meet their specialised needs. Cultivation of papaya is suitable in tropical and sub-tropical regions. In India it is cultivated in large areas. Fertile, water retaining soil is most suitable for its cultivation. Tamil Nadu Agriculture University has developed CO 2 and CO 5 varieties of papaya especially for latex of papain production. Farmers can cultivate papaya for production of latex in about 25 acres (10 hectares) of land for supply 50-60 kg of latex per day for 300 days. In order to get papain throughout the year the plantation is done in three phases with a gap of 3-4 months. Uses of Papain Papain by far is the most widely studied of the cysteine enzymes because of its commercial value. It is used in applications like tendering of meat for fast cooking, softening of silk fibre and leather, chill proofing of beer and pharmaceutical preparations for curing stomachic ailments. Papaya pulp is also used in food processing industry. Some other uses of papain include: Defibrinating wounds in hospitals Used in pet food to reduce viscosity and increase palatability Shrink proofing of wool Prevents cornea scar deformation Used to treat edemas, inflammatory processes, and in the acceleration of wound healing It is used as an ingredient in cleaning solutions for soft contact lenses In low doses it can be used as an indigestion medicine. Papain, in the form of a meat tenderizer such as Adolph's, made into a paste with water, is also a
home remedy treatment for jellyfish, bee, yellow jacket (wasps) stings, mosquito bites, and possibly stingray wounds, breaking down the protein toxins in the venom. It can also be found as an ingredient in some toothpastes or mints as teeth-whitener Papain has been employed to treat ulcers, dissolve membranes in diphtheria, and reduce swelling, fever and adhesions after surgery. Production of Papain Farmers generally cultivate CO, CO 2 developed by TN Agriculture University and Taiwanese varieties. One plant gives a yield of about 150 kg of fruit in 8-10 months period. Plant to plant distance of 2 meters is kept. Some farmers adopt inter-cropping practice and grow chillies for higher return. One can generatee a profit of 10-12 lakhs from a plantation of 20 acres. A small plant for production of papain could be set up near the field which costs around Rs. 5.00 lakhs on machinery apart from infrastructure like shed, utilities like water and electricity. Process of Papain Production The unripe papaya is first given a longitudinal cut in the evening and it is wrapped by polythene bag for collection of latex during next day morning with the rising of sun. After collection the latex is mixed potassium meta by-sulphite (Kms) and kept in cold storage to avoid fermentation. Subsequently the latex is spread in trays and drying takes about 4 hours. After drying the latex is scratched from the trays. It is again mixed with Kms and ground in SS hammer mills or roller and mills to get fine powder. Then its proteolactec activity is tested in laboratory. Subsequently lactose is added to the latex powder to get BP or IP grade papain. The ready papain is finally packed in airtight polythene bags or metal containers. Fig. Vacuum shelf driers
The main requirements of equipment are vacuum shelf dried de-humidifier, hammer milk, blender, lab equipment and auxiliary equipment like cans, weighing scale, walk-in from food processing machinery manufacturers. PROCESS FLOW cooler sealing machine. All this equipment is available indigenously CHART Techno-Economics Capacity- 5000 kg of latex papain 1 year Land 400 sq metres Building 100 sq metres Machinery Contingency and pre-operators 0.50 lakhs 2.00 lakhs 6.00 lakhs 1.00 lakhs Rs. 9.50 lakhs Working capital (without raw material) Rs. 10.50
Source of Technology Technology for papain production could be obtained from CFTRI, Mysore. The plant should be set up near the field but water and electricity should be available. In addition, farmer can sell the ripe fruit in the market. It is a highly profitable venture. Another has been instruments is transfer of this technology to few entrepreneurs. M. S. Virdi Ex-Director, CSIR, Bhopal. H-15, Sterling Castles, Hoshangabad Road, Bhopal E-mail: virdim@yahoo.com Note: The author may have used various references in the preparation of this article. For further details please contact him/her. Disclaimer: Articles & information in the e-zine Science Tech Entrepreneur contain views expressed by individual authors or are taken from various sources Science Tech Entrepreneur does not own any responsibility for their authenticity.