Phenolic compounds are important components in vegetable foods, infusions and teas for their beneficial effects on human health. The
presence of such compounds, evidenced for the first time in Carica papaya leaves, could partially explain the pharmacological properties
of this plant and demonstrates its importance in alimentation and daily intake. C. papaya leaves were extracted with methanol in a
Soxhlet apparatus and later with a liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) with the aim of identifying and quantifying secondary metabolites
from this plant, using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) in the selected ion-monitoring (SIM) mode. Derivatization
procedure of the extract was necessary to analyze the polar compounds in GC–MS. 5,7-Dimethoxycoumarin and polar molecules such as
protocatechuic acid, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, kaempferol and quercetin were detected and identified in qualitative
analysis. The quantitative analysis has shown the presence of phenolic acids as the main compound, while chlorogenic acid was found in
trace amounts, compared to the flavonoids and coumarin compounds. The quantities detected were 0.25 mg/g (dry leaf) for caffeic acid,
0.33 mg/g for p-coumaric acid and 0.11 mg/g for protocatechuic acid. Kaempferol and quercetin were 0.03 and 0.04 mg/g, respectively,
while that for 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin was 0.14 mg/g.
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