Bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential determination in callus tissue as compared to leaf, stem and root tissue of Carica papaya cv. Red Lady 786.

Carica papaya, commonly known as papaya, is a succulent herbaceous plant renowned for its rich natural antioxidant content in various parts including leaves, fruits, seeds, and roots. In this finding, comprehensive research was carried out to estimate the antioxidant activities of ethanolic extracts from aerial components (leaf and stem), rhizosphere components (roots) as well as in vitro regenerated callus of the Red Lady 786 cultivar. The primary objective was to optimize the extraction conditions that yielded the maximum recovery of TPC (total phenolic content), TFC (total flavonoid content), and antioxidant potential, specifically in relation to RSA (radical scavenging activity). The study revealed a range of total phenolics (26.76 to 108.8 mg gallic acid g^{− 1} dw), flavonoids (13.05 to 47.54 mg rutin g^{− 1} dw), and radical scavenging activity (8.51 to 48.3%) across different tissue of Red Lady 786. Notably, maximum contents of phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant properties were recorded in leaves of Red Lady 786, extracted using conditions involving 50% ethanol at 50 °C for 30 min. Correlation analysis further unveiled a positive correlation among TPC, TFC, and RSA within the leaves, stem, root, and callus tissues. The results of this study suggest that the leaf, stem, root, and callus tissues of C. papaya have significant potential for the production of bioactive compounds. Research Highlights: Total phenols, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of leaf, stem, and root extracts is compared with callus extracts for the first time in Red Lady 786. Evidence of substantial phenols, flavonoids, and antioxidant potential within callus extracts, with leaves exhibiting the highest efficacy. Established in vitro callus cultures that could be used for mass propagation and production of bioactive compounds using bioresources to catalyze bioeconomy in a sustainable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]