Characterization of functional components flour epicarp papaya (Carica papaya L) as a source of natural pigments

Papaya (Carica papaya L) is some fruit rich in antioxidants and an important source for obtaining bioactive compounds. Its production, worldwide for the year 2017, was 13.3 million tons. In its industrial processing is obtained approximately between 15 and 20%, in relation to the weight of the fruit, of husks or epicarp, which are likely to be used in order to obtain organic compounds such as carotenoids and polyphenols, among others, contributing, in addition, to mitigate the effects on the environment, since generally, these shells are thrown into landfills of solid waste, generating serious problems of environmental pollution. The objective of this research was to characterize physicochemically the carotenoid pigments obtained from the papaya epicarp. A papaya epicarp flour was processed and it was determined, both in it and in the fresh epicarp, pH, titratable acidity, moisture content and dry matter. Likewise, the carotenoid content, the antioxidant activity and the content of phenolic compounds were determined. The results showed high values for physicochemical parameters. The content of carotenoid compounds for the fractions of β-carotene, α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, Zeaxanthin and lycopene ranged between 8,587 and 4,070 mg/100g of epicarp, with the highest value corresponding to β-cryptoxanthin and the lowest value the lycopene fraction. The antioxidant activity, expressed as inhibition of the DPPH radical, gave a value of 58.77 ± 3.038 IC50 mg/ml. The content of phenolic compounds measured in mg of gallic acid equivalents/g gave a result of 24.948 ± 0.728. The data obtained allow us to conclude that said flour can be used as a source of bioactive compounds and natural pigments both in the food industry and in the technical and pharmaceutical industries