Background: Carica papaya is a member of the Caricaceae family. The ripe fruits are juicy and rich in nutrients. The unripe fruits are seldom consumed. There are several unverified claims of traditional usage of unripe Carica papaya in phytotherapy. Ripe papaya is used to improves digestive and abdominal disorders, treat dyspepsia, hyperacidity, dysentery and constipation. Extracts of unripe C. papaya contain considerable photochemical, also used to treat diuretic or mild laxative and to stimulate lactation. Information on the consumption of raw unripe papaya is observed to be scarce. Objectives: The thrust of this study was to examine the possible outcome of consuming mature and unripe Carica papaya on some antioxidant enzymes and lipid profiles in rats. To conduct this study, a 4 x 6 experiment was designed, comprising four groups of six rats per group. Control (Group A) was fed with standard feed. Group B received standard feed with unpeeled blend of Carica papaya. Group C received standard feed with peeled blend of Carica papaya, while Group D was given standard feed with boiled and unpeeled blend of Carica papaya. The feed-papaya mix ratio was 80:20 respectively in all cases. Feeding took four weeks duration, after which blood samples were harvested and processed for analysis. Methods: Nutrients composition of feed blends was done with AOAC methods. Serum Total Cholesterol, Triacylglyceride (TG) and High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) were determined with standard assay kits. Serum catalase (CAT) activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were assayed using standard procedures. Results: Weight gains were observed among all groups. There was significant (p
Key words: Pawpaw, antioxidants, cholesterol, vascular disease.
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