Authors Asadullah Department of Pharmacology, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical College Asif Ahmed Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Baqai Medical University. Lubna Riaz Dow University of Health Sciences. Nasrul Huda Department of Anatomy, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical College. Farzana Azam Khan Department of Forensic Medicine &Toxicology, Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College Naila Parveen Department of Physiology, Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College DOI: https://doi.org/10.58397/5j24sc29 Keywords: Carica Papaya, Brine Shrimp, n-Hexane, Acetone, Cytotoxicity. Abstract

Objective: To assess the cytotoxicity/lethality of Carica papaya leaves (red lady variety) on Artemia Salina.

Methods: Preclinical (experimental) research was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Baqai Medical University, using in vitro techniques. Red Lady variety of Carica papaya leaves are collected from the campus garden of Karachi University. The plant was just recognized and identified from the herbarium belonging to the department of botany at the University of Karachi. The extraction of the Carica papaya ‘Red Lady’ variety was conducted at the Hussain Ebrahim Re- search Institute (Industrial Analytical Centre). Five kg of the Green Carica papaya leaves (variety of the Red Lady) were gathered, cleaned, and processed. Whereas, the extraction used n-hexane and acetone in a Soxhlet extractor, with 10grams and 82grams of dried sample for n-hexane and acetone extractions respectively. The brine shrimp cytotoxicity/lethality assessment employed brine shrimp eggs as the test organism. Eggs were incubated in artificial sea water with 38grams/liter of sodium chloride in distilled water, under continuous illumination at 37°C for 24hours in a rectangular tray. Sample preparations need dissolving the testing sample (20mg) in 2milliliters of the appropriate solvent. Subsequently, transfer 5, 50, and 500?l in this regard solution to glass vials, consequential in 3 various concentrations 10, 100, and 1000?g/ml.

Results: The n-hexane extract showed minimal activity, with only 29 out of 30 survivors and a mortality rate of 3.34% across doses of 10µg/ml, 100µg/ml, and 1000µg/ml. Similarly, the acetone extract had limited activity, with 30 out of 30 survivors at doses of 10µg/ml and 100µg/ml, and 29 out of 30 survivors with a mortality rate of 3.34% at 1000µg/ml.

Conclusion: In conclusion, our research explored the cytotoxic effects of extracts from Carica Papaya Leaves (Red Lady Variety) using the brine shrimp lethality assay. The findings revealed that both n-hexane and acetone extracts demonstrated reduced cytotoxicity in the brine shrimp assays. Thus, these extracts underscore the pharmacological viability of leaves.

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