When was papaya discovered

If you allow the seeds to dry, they become spicy, peppercorn-like spheres which are widely used in South American cuisine..

Read more about farmer Rodrigo! The papaya contains enzymes which tenderise meat, so it is often used in meat dishes. Nutritional value. Growing areas. Click to enlarge. Step 1 Cut the papaya in half lengthwise. B Wild population of Carica papaya in Yucatan, Mexico. C Wild fruits, intermediate form fruits possible hybrid between wild and domesticated plants , and domesticated papaya fruit Maradol variety.

Since wild C. Moreover, because papaya is one of the most economically important tropical crops in the world, and wild populations still occur naturally, the species represents an ideal system to study, in depth, the process of domestication. Here, we present a review of the existent knowledge on the origin, distribution and domestication of papaya, and discuss the usage of genetic and genomic methods to study the domestication of this valuable species.

Different authors suggest a Mesoamerican origin of C. One reason for the lack of archaeological data is the difficulty to identify papaya from phytoliths, and their pollen grains have been hardly found Carvalho and Renner, Phylogenetic evidence of the Caricaceae family, also supports a Mesoamerican origin of papaya. Carvalho and Renner obtained a molecular phylogeny of the Caricaceae family using chloroplast and nuclear data 4, bp of the 34 species in the family.

This is the only phylogeny using members from all the Caricaceae family. Their resulting phylogeny points that Carica papaya is more closely related to the genus Horovitzia , endemic to Mexico, and Jarilla , endemic to Mexico and Guatemala, than to the South American genus Vasconcellea , as previously thought Carvalho and Renner, Moreover, Carica, Jarilla and Horovitzia show an unilocular ovary, whereas the remaining South American Caricaceae possess 5-locular ovaries Carvalho and Renner, This morphological synapomorphy supports the family phylogeny.

Further evidence is offered by the origin of the Y h chromosome in cultivated hermaphrodite individuals of papaya VanBuren et al. By sequencing the entire male-specific region of the Y chromosome and comparing it with the previous sequences of the hermaphrodite-specific region of the Y h chromosome, Wang et al.

This reduced variability is consistent with a genetic bottleneck scenario possibly brought about by domestication, and suggests that dioecy is ancestral in C. Given the ubiquity of dioecy in wild populations of papaya in Mesoamerica, an origin for the species in this region is a more parsimonious hypothesis. Yet, genomic studies can aid to determine the origin of some innovations related with domestication.

High values of genetic variation of wild populations, and wild relatives, are expected to be found in the centers of origin of crop species Gepts and Papa, Additionally, domestication is expected to reduce genetic diversity and provoke selective sweeps in genes associated to characters target of domestication Purugganan and Fuller, The higher genetic diversity was found in locations of southern Mexico, suggesting this region as a genetic reservoir for the species see below.

Summing up, evidence strongly suggests that C. Regarding the natural distribution of papaya, this has been suggested to range from the northern tropical limit of Mexico to Costa Rica in Central America Aradhya et al. However, the precise assessment of its natural distribution is still lacking. One reason for this is the scarcity of studies in wild populations of papaya, and the paucity of herbarium specimens indicating whether a specimen belongs to a cultivated or wild individual.

Although they did not distinguish between wild and cultivated plants, their results show that most specimens belong to Mexico and to a lesser extent to Central America Unfortunately, the present rates of deforestation and habitat fragmentation within the proposed distribution range of wild papaya is high enough as to endanger the persistence of plant species Barlow et al. This, coupled with the lack of information on the state of many wild varieties of important crop species, warn us about the relevance of studying and conserving wild populations and wild relatives of papaya and other crop species.

The limited occurrence of wild populations of C. Mesoamerica is considered as one of the World's centers of plant domestication Harlan, ; Pohl et al.

The Maya was the most important culture present in that region before the conquest of Mexico by Spain in the sixteenth century, and probably one of the first to cultivate and trade the fruits of C. By the time of the conquest of Mexico, it is believed that papaya was cultivated by native people all the way from southern Mexico to the Isthmus of Panama, where it was locally known as olocoton Storey et al. In the sixteenth century the Spaniards were probably the first responsible for the spread of papaya beyond Mesoamerica Carvalho and Renner, It was introduced into the Hispaniola island nowadays Haiti and Santo Domingo in 1, There, it acquired the Carib Indian name ababai , that would then be changed to papaia, papia, papeya , and finally papaya.

In papaya was taken outside of America to Indonesia, and then spread commercially throughout the East Indies and tropical Asia Storey et al. After that, it rapidly spread into other Asian countries and finally to Africa, brought by European colonial powers, such as Portugal, Denmark, Great Britain and France Manshardt, Moreover, because the papaya seeds have a moderate period of longevity, it is likely that this trait aided to its rapid spread throughout the tropics, where it has existed practically since man has recorded modern history Schroeder, Nowadays, there are many varieties of papaya cultivated in most tropical and subtropical regions of the world, differing in traits such as fruit size, color, flavour, and tree size Moore, The principal characters of papaya that have been studied as target of selection under domestication are: tree size, fruit size, sex types, and morphology, and germinability of seeds.

Whereas tree size has been selected to become smaller to facilitate fruit harvesting Niklas and Marler, , selection has been focused on enlarging the fruit size and increasing the ovary wall pulp for human consumption Coppens d'Eeckenbrugge et al.

As a result, several varieties of papaya are cultivated around the world. Regarding sex types, in dioecious fruit crops, mutations inducing hermaphroditism have been associated with domestication; this is the case of species like strawberry, grape and papaya Janick, In the Caricaceae family, dioecy is the ancestral stateand it has been suggested that hermaphrodite individuals in papaya, resulted from a natural mutation in male plants and were likely selected by humans for its favorable fruit phenotype Ueno et al.

Although crop plant domestication in Mesoamerica occurred around 6, years ago, the estimation coincides with the rise of the Maya civilization. Given that hermaphrodite individuals are rarely found in wild populations of Mesoamerica, this strongly supports that papaya was domesticated by the Mayans or other Mesoamerican cultures thousands of years ago.

Finally, seeds from wild and domesticated papayas differ in size, germination rate, dormancy, and light sensitivity. This domestication syndrome has been reported for other crops Doebley et al. Understanding crop domestication is crucial to fulfill the demand for improving yield and quality of crops Tang et al. Knowledge of the genetic diversity within crop species is essential to understand their origin, domestication and evolutionary relationships, and to efficiently develop strategies for the conservation of their genetic resources, and effective crop improvement Moore, Furthermore, crops represent excellent systems for the study of rapid evolution.

For the case of papaya, the species now represents an important model in genetic and genomic studies; papaya is one of the first plant species to have its genome sequenced Ming et al. In this section, we briefly review some advances of genetic and genomic methods in papaya; from what is known about the state of wild populations, to recent advances in domesticated varieties.

It must be noted, however, that recent specialized reviews about genomics in papaya have been published elsewhere Ming et al. A recurrent consequence of domestication is the reduction of genetic diversity due to the 2-fold effect of genetic drift and selection that operate during the domestication process Doebley et al.

Early on, the use of genetics in tropical fruit crops was confined to the development of isozyme and dominant PCR-based markers and their use for germplasm diversity analysis and clonal fingerprinting; however, information from dominant markers is of limited use in genomic applications Litz and Padilla, Since then, codominant markers, known as simple sequence repeat SSR markers or microsatellites, have been developed for several tropical fruit crops and used for parentage analysis, clonal fingerprinting, genetic diversity analysis, and development of genetic linkage maps.

Nowadays, the increased capability of DNA sequencing by next generation methods, is leading to increased interest in tropical tree fruit crops and to new opportunities to increase the rate of genetic gain in breeding programs Litz and Padilla, Genetic knowledge of papaya has been accelerated with the advances in molecular markers, linkage and physical maps, comparative genomics studies, and the sequencing of its genome Tripathi et al.

For genetic diversity studies, some molecular markers have been developed for papaya, mainly SSRs Ocampo et al. However, most studies have focused on cultivated papaya, with a dearth of studies addressing the genetic diversity and structure of wild populations. Using both nuclear SSRs and chloroplast DNA markers in individuals of 19 natural populations, we found a mean observed heterozygosity of 0. The area with the higher genetic diversity for both markers occur in southeast Mexico, near the region of the Tehuantepec Isthmus.

Populations that inhabit forest fragments showed a reduced genetic diversity, higher population differentiation, and less migrants. Together, these studies suggest that wild papaya has maintained genetic connectivity among populations throughout time; however, populations are becoming recently structured probably due to human disturbances of its natural habitat, like habitat fragmentation, rendering important conservation concerns for the species in its wild form.

Efforts to conserve the natural genetic resources of the species should be addressed as well to assure the conservation of the domesticated varieties through genetic improvement. Genetic diversity of cultivated and feral papayas has shown to be, in general, lower than wild populations: 1 Using AFLPs markers, a genetic similarity of 0.

Years of selective breeding would explain the low genetic diversity in the domesticated papayas brought about the domestication bottleneck. During domestication, gene flow between wild and domesticated conspecific plants plays an important role in addition to other evolutionary forces such as genetic drift and selection.

However, there are no studies evaluating the ecological and evolutionary consequences of this phenomenon. Considering the introduction of transgenic papayas amid the natural distribution of wild populations of C. Papaya is known as the world's first transgenic cultivar to have been released for commercial production in Hawaii, USA , in by public institutions in the USA Tecson Mendoza et al.

This transgenic variety was developed to control the papaya ringspot virus PRSV. The PRSV acts destroying the photosynthetic capacity of the leaves, leading first to a decrease in fruit quality and yield, loss of vegetative vigor, and eventual death of plants Lius et al. After a spread of the virus in that nearly killed all cultivars in Puna Island in Hawaii, efforts to develop a resistant variety to the PRSV began.

Two varieties successfully controlled the virus infection and saved the papaya production in Hawaii: Rainbow and SunUp. However, some concern raised regarding the potential effects of gene flow between transgenic and nontransgenic cultivars. Experiments were carried out to assess this; from through , Gonsalves et al. Although cultivars of transgenic papaya are confined to Hawaii, little is known about the ecological, evolutionary and commercial consequences of possible transgene flow in the center of origin of papaya where natural populations occur, and where attempts to release transgenic cultivars have prevailed Silva-Rosales et al.

Morton, J. Fruits of warm climates. Local fruits on stamps. The Straits Times , p. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. Piper, J. Fruits of South-east Asia : Facts and folklore. Singapore: Oxford University Press, p. Call no. Hutton, W. Tropical fruits of Malaysia and Singapore. Periplus Editions, p. Health benefits of papaya. This fungus attacks very young and older fruits in Queensland and also causes trunk rot. In South Africa, it affects cv 'Honey Gold' which is also subject to spotting by Asperisporium caricae on the fruits and leaves.

Both of these diseases are controllable by fungicidal sprays. Infection at the apex by Cladospoiium sp. A pre-harvest fruit rot caused by Phomopsis caricae papayae is troublesome in Queensland and was announced from India in A new disease, papaya apical necrosis, caused by a rhabdovirus, was reported in Florida in Papayas are frequently blemished by a condition called "freckles", of unknown origin; and mysterious hard lumps of varying size and form may be found in ripe fruits. Star spot grayish-white, star-shaped superficial markings appears on immature fruits in Queensland after exposure to cold winter winds.

In Uttar Pradesh, an alga, Cephaleuros mycoidea, often disfigures the fruit surface. In Brazil, Hawaii and other areas, a fungus, Botryodiplodia theobromae, causes severe stem rot and fruit rot. Trichothecium rot T. Charcoal rot, Macrophomina phaseoli, is reported in Pakistan. Pre-planting treatment of the soil is the only means of prevention. Papayas generally do poorly on land previously planted with papayas and this is usually the result of soil infestation by Pythium aphanidernwtum and Phytophthora palmivora.

Plant refuse from previous plantings should never be incorporated into the soil. Soil fumigation is necessary before replanting papayas in the same field. Sometimes a few seeds are left attached for those who enjoy their peppery flavor but not many should be eaten. The flesh is often cubed or shaped into balls and served in fruit salad or fruit cup. Firm-ripe papaya may be seasoned and baked for consumption as a vegetable.

Ripe flesh is commonly made into sauce for shortcake or ice cream sundaes, or is added to ice cream just before freezing; or is cooked in pie, pickled, or preserved as marmalade or jam.

Papaya and pineapple cubes, covered with sugar sirup, may be quick-frozen for later serving as dessert.

Half-ripe fruits are sliced and crystallized as a sweetmeat. Papaya juice and nectar may be prepared from peeled or unpeeled fruit and are sold fresh in bottles or canned.

In Hawaii, papayas are reduced to puree with sucrose added to retard gelling and the puree is frozen for later use locally or in mainland USA in fruit juice blending or for making jam. Unripe papaya is never eaten raw because of its latex content. Green papaya is frequently boiled and served as a vegetable. Cubed green papaya is cooked in mixed vegetable soup. Green papaya is commonly canned in sugar sirup in Puerto Rico for local consumption and for export.

Green papayas for canning in Queensland must be checked for nitrate levels. High nitrate content causes detinning of ordinary cans, and all papayas with over 30 ppm nitrate must be packed in cans lacquered on the inside. Australian growers are hopeful that the papaya can be bred for low nitrate uptake. A lye process for batch peeling of green papayas has proven feasible in Puerto Rico. They are then rapidly cooled by a cold water bath and then sprayed with water to remove all softened tissue.

Best proportions are 1 lb. Young leaves are cooked and eaten like spinach in the East Indies. Mature leaves are bitter and must be boiled with a change of water to eliminate much of the bitterness. Papaya leaves contain the bitter alkaloids, carpaine and pseudocarpaine, which act on the heart and respiration like digitalis, but are destroyed by heat.

In addition, two previously undiscovered major D 1 -piperideine alkaloids, dehydrocarpaine I and II, more potent than carpaine, were reported from the University of Hawaii in Sprays of male flowers are sold in Asian and Indonesian markets and in New Guinea for boiling with several changes of water to remove bitterness and then eating as a vegetable.

In Indonesia, the flowers are sometimes candied. Young stems are cooked and served in Africa. Older stems, after peeling, are grated, the bitter juice squeezed out, and the mash mixed with sugar and salt. In India, papaya seeds are sometimes found as an adulterant of whole black pepper. Collaborating chemists in Italy and Somalia identified 18 amino acids in papaya seeds, principally, in descending order of abundance, glutamic acid, arginine, proline, and aspartic acid in the endosperm; and proline, tyrosine, lysine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid in the sarcotesta.

A yellow to brown, faintly scented oil was extracted from the sundried, powdered seeds of unripe papayas at the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, India.

White seeds yielded Food Value The papaya is regarded as a fair source of iron and calcium; a good source of vitamins A, B and G and an excellent source of vitamin C ascorbic acid. The following figures represent the minimum and maximum levels of constituents as reported from Central America and Cuba. Carotenoid content of papaya The major carotenoid is cryptoxanthin. Papain 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 , Ceylon Sri Lanka was the leading commercial source of papain but it has been surpassed by East Africa where large-scale production began in The latex is obtained by making incisions on the surface of the green fruits early in the morning and repeating every 4 or 5 days until the latex ceases to flow.

The tool is of bone, glass, sharp-edged bamboo or stainless steel knife or raxor blade. Ordinary steel stains the latex. Tappers hold a coconut shell, clay cup, or glass, porcelain or enamel pan beneath the fruit to catch the latex, or a container like an "inverted umbrella" is clamped around the stem. The latex coagulates quickly and, for best results, is spread on fabric and oven-dried at a low temperature, then ground to powder and packed in tins. Sun-drying tends to discolor the product.

The lanced fruits may be allowed to ripen and can be eaten locally, or they can be employed for making dried papaya "leather" or powdered papaya, or may be utilized as a source of pectin. Because of its papain content, a piece of green papaya can be rubbed on a portion of tough meat to tenderize it. Sometimes a chunk of green papaya is cooked with meat for the same purpose.

One of the best known uses of papain is in commercial products marketed as meat tenderizers, especially for home use. A modern development is the injection of papain into beef cattle a half-hour before slaughtering to tenderize more of the meat than would normally be tender.

Papain-treated meat should never be eaten "rare" but should be cooked sufficiently to inactivate the enzyme. The tongue, liver and kidneys of injected animals must be consumed quickly after cooking or utilized immediately in food or feed products, as they are highly perishable. Papain has many other practical applications.

It is used to clarify beer, also to treat wool and silk before dyeing, to de-hair hides before tanning, and it serves as an adjunct in rubber manufacturing. It is applied on tuna liver before extraction of the oil which is thereby made richer in vitamins A and D, It enters into toothpastes, cosmetics and detergents, as well as pharmaceutical preparations to aid digestion. Papain has been employed to treat ulcers, dissolve membranes in diphtheria, and reduce swelling, fever and adhesions after surgery.

With considerable risk, it has been applied on meat impacted in the gullet. Chemopapain is sometimes injected in cases of slipped spinal discs or pinched nerves. Precautions should be taken because some individuals are allergic to papain in any form and even to meat tenderized with papain. Folk Uses In tropical folk medicine, the fresh latex is smeared on boils, warts and freckles and given as a vermifuge.

In India, it is applied on the uterus as an irritant to cause abortion. The unripe fruit is sometimes hazardously ingested to achieve abortion. Seeds, too, may bring on abortion. They are often taken as an emmenagogue and given as a vermifuge. The root is ground to a paste with salt, diluted with water and given as an enema to induce abortion.

A root decoction is claimed to expel roundworms. Roots are also used to make salt. Crushed leaves wrapped around tough meat will tenderize it overnight. The leaf also functions as a vermifuge and as a primitive soap substitute in laundering. Dried leaves have been smoked to relieve asthma or as a tobacco substitute. Packages of dried, pulverized leaves are sold by "health food" stores for making tea, despite the fact that the leaf decoction is administered as a purgative for horses in Ghana and in the Ivory Coast it is a treatment for genito-urinary ailments.

The dried leaf infusion is taken for stomach troubles in Ghana and they say it is purgative and may cause abortion. Antibiotic Activity Studies at the University of Nigeria have revealed that extracts of ripe and unripe papaya fruits and of the seeds are active against gram-positive bacteria.

Strong doses are effective against gram-negative bacteria. The substance has protein-like properties. The fresh crushed seeds yield the aglycone of glucotropaeolin benzyl isothiocyanate BITC which is bacteriostatic, bactericidal and fungicidal. A single effective does is g seeds mg BITC. In a London hospital in , a post-operative infection in a kidney-transplant patient was cured by strips of papaya which were laid on the wound and left for 48 hours, after all modern medications had failed.

Papaya Allergy Mention has already been made of skin irritation in papaya harvesters because of the action of fresh papaya latex, and of the possible hazard of consuming undercooked meat tenderized with papain.

It must be added that the pollen of papaya flowers has induced severe respiratory reactions in sensitive individuals. Thereafter, such people react to contact with any part of the plant and to eating ripe papaya or any food containing papaya, or meat tenderized with papain. Related Species The mountain papaya C. The plant is stout and tall but bears a small, yellow, conical, 5-angled fruit of sweet flavor.

It is cultivated in climates too cold for the papaya, including northern Chile where it thrives mainly in and around the towns of Coquimbo and La Serena at near-sea-level.

The fruit borne all year is too rich in papain for eating raw but is popular cooked, and is canned for domestic consumption and for export. Its high resistance to papaya viruses is of great interest to plant breeders there and elsewhere.