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Does Sex matter in the Use of Carica Papaya?
(2015-07-28) Ade-Ademilua, O; Craker, L
The use of Carica papaya roots in traditional medicine in West Africa have always been in favour of the male plant than the female plant. Cogent reasons behind this have never been given; hence a study was carried out to investigate the potency of the male papaya plant versus female. Methanolic, ethanolic and aqueous extracts of the roots of male plants were darker in colour than those from female plants. There was no significant difference in the phytochemical contents of the male and female plants. Extracts of both male and female plants showed no significant difference in antimicrobial activities. Crystals, showing characteristics of potash, obtained from both male and female plants appear different in lustre but showed no significant difference in antimicrobial activities. There was also no significant difference in the quantitiy and quality of the crystals obtained. Results showed no evidence of the potency of the roots of male plants above the female plants. The use of roots of male plants in traditional medicine appears simply to be a conservation idea, to protect the female plant population of Carica papaya for fruit production.