Antioxidant Potential and Quality Evaluation of Tea Prepared from Papaya (Carica papaya) Leaves

Background: Papaya (Carica papaya) is a highly valued medicinal plant with significant bioactive properties. This research aims to evaluate the processing of papaya leaf tea, assess the impact of different processing methods on the quality of black tea, green tea, and instant tea. Methods: In this study, three types of tea - black tea, green tea, and instant tea - were prepared using papaya leaves. Initially, the bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential of both green and yellow papaya leaves were assessed. Results: Green papaya leaf powder (GLP) exhibited the highest concentrations of phenolic compounds (55.93±0.08 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (2192.93 mg QE/100 g), anthocyanins (282.66 mg/100 g), and antioxidant activity (182.86 mg TE/100 g). Green leaf paste (GLPa) and yellow leaf powder (YLP) also demonstrated significant levels of these compounds, while yellow leaf paste (YLPa) showed the lowest concentrations across all measurements. Black tea prepared from green papaya leaves contained the highest levels of phenolics (94.45 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (1026.24 mg QE/100 g), anthocyanins (1993.02 mg/100 g), and displayed the strongest DPPH inhibition (26.147%). While there were minor variations in the nutritional composition among the different tea types, they all exhibited similar profiles, with slight differences in ash and carbohydrate content. Sensory evaluation, using a 9-point hedonic scale and 10 panelists, revealed that black tea and green tea brewed for 2 minutes (B2) had the highest color intensity, flavor, taste, and acceptability compared to those brewed for 1 minute (B1) and 5 minutes (B3). Conclusion: These findings suggest that black tea made from green papaya leaves may offer the greatest health benefits due to its higher antioxidant content and activity compared to green tea and instant tea.