Effect of Carica papaya Leaves Extract on the Morphological and Physiological Factors of Drosophila melanogaster

Author(s): Ashwini S, Sharon Reji, Neha Mahesh and Selvam Arjunan*

Abstract: Since ancient times plants have been used for the treatment of various diseases, the medicinal importance of these plants has led to the promotion of these plant extracts as an alternative source of remedy. Interestingly, papaya which belongs to the Caricaceae family is used as an effective medicine for several diseases across the globe. The main objective of this experiment is to estimate the changes that are caused due to the addition of papaya leaves extract in Drosophila Media This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of papaya leaf extracts on the development, reproduction and behaviour of the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. The experiment was carried out with different concentrations of the ethanol leaf extract obtained via Soxhlet apparatus and the bioactivity of the herb on the model organism was measured. After orally administering the flies with different concentrations of the extract in their diets, the flies were processed through various assays. Some of them include dry and wet starvation, heat and UV tolerance. The flies were continuously monitored for their survival and death rates. Their reproduction yield was also noticed. It was found that the extract increased the mortality rate of male flies leading to increased number of females in the subsequent generations. Also, it reduced the production of off springs over generations affecting the reproduction yield.

PAGES: 267-276  |  166 VIEWS  297 DOWNLOADS