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Purification of Papain

Papain is an enzyme that is widely used in the food industry. This substance must go through a long extraction and purification process before it can be marketed.

  1. Collection and Extraction

    • According to Practical Action, papain comes from unripe papaya fruit. Several shallow lengthwise cuts are made in the skin of the fruit, and a rapidly coagulating material called latex drips out of the cut for four and six minutes. The latex is collected in a container and placed in a shady area.

    Drying

    • Papaya latex dries into a crumbly substance. Practical Action indicates that the best results are produced through oven-drying, but sun-drying is more cost-effective and is the most common drying method used. The latex is left on trays to dry in the sun and is ground into a fine powder afterward.

    Assaying

    • The strength of papain is tested by dissolving a small amount of the substance into a container of milk. An observer notes how long it takes for the papain to clot the milk. The experiment is duplicated several times using different amounts of the solution. This procedure is performed before marketing the product because the strength of the papain determines its use.

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