Papaya Nutrition facts
Papaya
Deliciously sweet, papaya fruit is another gift of Mexicans to this world. This exotic fruit is packed with numerous health-benefiting nutrients. It is one of the favorites of fruit lovers for its nutritional, digestive, and medicinal properties. It probably thought to have originated in the Central Americas.
Papaya plant is grown extensively all over the tropical regions under cultivated farms for its fruits as well as for latex, papain, an enzyme that found wide applications in the food industry.
Botanically, the plant belongs to Caricaceae family of flowering plants, in the genus; Carica.
Scientific name: Carica papaya.
The papaya tree bears many spherical or pear-shaped fruits clumped together near its top end of the trunk. They come in a variety of sizes ranging from 6-20 inches in length and 4-12 inches in diameter. The average-sized papaya weighs about a pound. The fruit is said to ripen when it yields to gentle thumb pressure, and its skin turned amber to an orange tint.
Inside, the fruit features numerous black peppercorn-like seeds, encased in a mucin coat concentrated at its hollow, central cavity as in melons. The flesh is orange in color with either yellow or pink hues, soft, and has a deliciously sweet taste with a rich, musky flavor.
Babaco fruit is closely related to papaya, and has similar appearance and flavor as papaya.
| Nutrition Principle | Nutrition Value | Percentage of RDA |
|---|---|---|
| Principle | ||
| Energy | 43 Kcal | 2% |
| Carbohydrates | 10.82 g | 8% |
| Protein | 0.47 g | 1% |
| Total Fat | 0.26 g | 1% |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0% |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.70 g | 4% |
| Vitamins | ||
| Folates | 37 µg | 9% |
| Niacin | 0.338 mg | 2% |
| Pantothenic acid | 0.218 mg | 4% |
| Pyridoxine | 0.038 mg | 3% |
| Riboflavin | 0.027 mg | 2% |
| Thiamin | 0.023 mg | 2% |
| Vitamin A | 950 IU | 32% |
| Vitamin C | 60.9 mg | 102% |
| Vitamin E | 0.30 mg | 2% |
| Vitamin K | 2.6 µg | 2% |
| Electrolytes | ||
| Sodium | 8 mg | 0.5% |
| Potassium | 182 mg | 4% |
| Minerals | ||
| Calcium | 20 mg | 2% |
| Iron | 0.25 mg | 3% |
| Magnesium | 21 mg | 5% |
| Phosphorus | 10 mg | 1% |
| Zinc | 0.08 mg | 0.5% |
| Phyto-nutrients | ||
| Carotene-β | 276 µg | -- |
| Crypto-xanthin-β | 761 µg | -- |
| Lutein-zeaxanthin | 75 µg | -- |