Purification of Used Coconut Cooking Oil Using Papaya’s (Carica

papaya L.) Papain

A Research presented to the Faculty of

San Pablo City Science Integrated High School
Senior High

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for Graduation of Senior High School
Academic track
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand

Joshua C. Bidula
Joy C. Llanes
Vince Dylan G. Visey

March 2020
Background of the Study

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Street vendors around San Pablo City, Laguna often sell fried foods

such as chicken, fishball, squidball, kikiam, hotdog, and etc. Most of them

still use the same cooking oil even though they used it for numerous times

already causing the change in color of the oil. Based in some research

reusing cooking oil can increase its cholesterol content due to the reused fats

that are present in the oil. According to the Department of Health

spokesperson, Dr. Eric Tayag, overusing cooking oil is hazardous to health

and may harbor bacteria. It can cause chemical reactions that produce toxic

chemicals. Unhealthy fats and salts could be also obtained from overused

cooking oil that can cause high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity,

kidney stones and bladder stones.

Papaya is known for its wide variety of health benefits. It contains

different nutrients that may help us to protect from different health

conditions. It is also popular in manufacturing of several cosmetics and

beauty products for its ability as a whitening agent for the skin. However

there are still many uses for the papaya fruit and has a potential to purify

overused cooking oil. Carica papaya has papain that has the ability to break

down proteins, fats and carbohydrates which is a common ingredient in meat

tenderizer. Thus, giving the researchers the idea of using papaya’s papain

enzyme to purify the used cooking oil. The ability of the papain to break
down fats and carbohydrate can help the used cooking oil to be purified

again sine reusing it causes its fats and carbohydrates content to increase.

Aside from purifying the cooking oil again, it may also help the vendors to

reuse the oil without risking the health of the consumers of their fried foods.

Conceptual Framework

Type of extract to be Frequency of use of the

used coconut oil

Quality of papaya
Effectiveness of
purifying used
coconut cooking oil Concentration of papain
using papaya’s
papain

Type or kinds of food fried

using the coconut oil

Figure 1. Effectiveness of purifying used cooking oil using papaya’s papain

Figure 1 shows the relationship of the different factors affecting the effectiveness

of purifying used coconut cooking oil using papaya’s papain. The quality of papaya in

terms of its ripeness will be determined if it will affect the papain of the papaya. The

number of times the coconut oil to be used will be tested if it will affect the needed

concentration of papain to purify the used oil. The kinds of food fried using the coconut

oil will also be determined if it has an effect in the fats and cholesterol content in the oil.
Lastly, the type of extract like crude ethanolic and aqueous will be used in order to test

which is more effective in purifying the used coconut cooking oil.

Research Paradigm

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

 Carica papaya’s 1. Gathering and Purification of Used

papain preparation of materials Coconut Cooking Oil
 Coconut cooking 2. Extraction of papain in Using Papaya’s
oil papaya (Carica papaya L.)
3. Experimentation Papain
4. Gathering of data
5. DataFEEDBACK
analysis
6. Waste disposal

Figure 2

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the Carica Papaya’s

papain in purifying the used cooking pan oil.

Specifically, this study is meant to answer the following questions:

1.) Is it effective to use the papaya’s papain in lowering the cholesterol and fat content

of the used cooking oil?

2.) Does the concentration of the papain affects the purification of the used coconut

cooking oil?

3.) Does the success of the study can lower the risk of having health-related problems

of the consumer of the used cooking pan oil?

4.) Does the success of the study can help the fried food vendors lessen their

financial expenses in buying new cooking pan oil?

Research Hypothesis

The researchers have the following assumptions:

Ho: The papaya’s papain has no significant effect in purifying used

coconut cooking oil.

Ha: The papaya’s papain has no significant effect in purifying used

coconut cooking oil.

Significance of the Study

Street vendors in the Philippines uses oil for cooking street foods called as tuhog.

Many vendors abuse the reusage of cooking pan oil which greatly affects the taste of

the food. Practice of cooking oil in frying for many times can change its physical

properties like its color and odor. Improper use of cooking oil can greatly affect the

health of a person and the environment. Free radicals attach themselves to healthy cells

and lead to diseases. Reusing oil can make free radicals that can be carcinogenic and

can block the passageway of blood in the arteries because of bad cholesterol (Setalvad,

2017). Other possible conditions are acidity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s

disease and Irritable throat.

In order to address this problem, the researchers will test Papaya’s Papain or

papaya proteinase I, an enzyme that can break down proteins into small peptides and

amino acids that made it suitable as a meat tenderizer. This proteolytic enzyme can also
breakdown fats during chemical digestion. Fats is a kind of free radicals that can affect

the body. Papaya will be used by the researchers for it is accessible, available and

abundant in the climate condition of the country. The researchers will test the properties

of Papain of Papaya if it can remove the fats in the used cooking oil. Papain cleaved

chemical bonds on the side of the protein or end if the chain that act as an antioxidant in

protecting our body from cellular damage and has Vitamins E and Vitamin C that can

affect the free radicals present (Mamboya, 2012).

If Carica Papaya’s papain once proven as a suitable purifier for coconut cooking

oil, this will help in solving local and global environmental problems. Vendors can use

papain as a purifier in a reused cooking oil which is eco-friendly and affordable and

readily available in our climate condition since Papaya trees in the country is abundant.

Through this, vendors can sell their products with no worries to food safety, danger in

human and environmental health.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study focuses on the implementation of different concentrations of crude

ethanolic extract of papain from Carica papaya, where it will be tested as a purifier of

the used coconut cooking oil. This study is also limited in testing the effectiveness of a

part of the papain of the papaya. First, the Carica papaya are needed to prepare before

the experiment then extraction of papain through different procedures before having the

oil treatment and statistical analysis. Proper waste disposal will be done by the

researchers to avoid any risks that may happen.

 The experimentation will be conducted at the University of the Philippines Los

Banos or at Laguna State Polytechnic University. The researchers will be under the

supervision of a professional to the field of the research study. Proper procedures and

certifications will be followed to avoid violations of such rules.

Definition of Terms

The important terms in this study has been defined. The following terminologies

are:

Carica Papaya L. a commercial fruit crop in tropical regions where

the papain will be extracted

Papain also known as Protease I that breaks down

proteins into smaller protein fragments known as

amino acids and peptides and will serve as an oil

Coconut cooking oil purifier in the study

known also as copra oil, and edible oil used in

Purification cooking and frying food and will be purified in the

study

the process of removing contaminants from

something. This method will be used in this study to

Rancidity test the effectiveness of papain in purifying used

coconut cooking oil.

it is the oxidation of fats caused by hydration and

oxidation, metallic atoms or microbes (Culinary

 Nutrition, 2013). It is important in the quality
Free Radicals parameters and refers to off odors and taste due to

oxidation or lipolysis.

in the process of Oxidation, oxygen molecules uplit

into single atoms with unpaired electron that forms

free radical. This scavenge the body to pair to another

Aqueous extract electron causing damage to cells, protein and DNA

(Szalay, 2016).

an extract prepared by evaporating a watery

solution of the soluble principles of a vegetable drug to

a semisolid or solid consistency