Antioxidant activity and simultaneous estimation of four polyphenolics in different parts of Carica papaya L. by a validated high-performance thin-layer chromatography method

A high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method for the simultaneous quantitative determination and validation of syringic acid, gallic acid, p-coumarin, and caffeic acid in the methanolic extract of different parts of Carica papaya L. was developed for the first time. For achieving good separation, the mobile phase of toluene–ethyl acetate–glacial acetic acid (8.5:1.5:0.1, V/V) was used. Densitometric determination was carried out at specified wavelength for different standard compounds, in refection/absorption mode. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 100‒600 ng per spot. During the analysis, the methanolic extract of different parts of C. papaya showed the presence of syringic acid 0.91% in seeds and p-coumarin 0.81% in roots. The proposed method is simple, precise, specific, and accurate. The obtained data can be used for routine analysis of reported biomarkers in crude drug and extracts. This article deals with the comparison of the antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts of various parts of C. papaya. The evaluation of the total phenolic content (TPC) revealed high antioxidant potential of the leaf and fruits. The free radical scavenging potential of the methanolic extracts indicated the seeds to have better 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity than roots. The simultaneous quantification and method validation of these biomarkers have not yet been reported for C. papaya and may be utilized for the proper standardization of the plant.