Papaya: Nutritional and pharmacological characterization, and quality loss due to physiological disorders. An overview

The papaya (Carica papaya L.) is a tropical fruit that is widely cultivated and consumed, both for its agreeable flavor as well as its many pharmacological properties. This review will discuss the fruit's origin and principal growing regions in the world and will briefly explore its nutritional and pharmacological attributes. In addition, we will identify and comment on some of the most common physiological disorders that occur postharvest. Such disorders compromise the quality of the fruit, bringing financial losses to the productive sector, along with serious economic and social consequences to papaya-growing countries. Among these disorders, physiological bruising, also known as skin freckles, characterized by the appearance of blemishes on the fruit while still in its growth stage, is one of the main problems associated with the crop. Possible causes of and current information on bruising are dealt with in this article. Other physiological disorders of the papaya such as pulp flesh translucency, pulp softening, and hard lumps in papaya flesh are also discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.