International Science Community Association International Research Journal of Biological Sciences 2278 - 3202 5 6 2016 06 10 Antimitotic Activity of Carica papaya Leaf Extract in the In Vitro Development of Sea Urchin, Tripneustes gratilla Embryo 12 17 EN AI-Jawhari Ihsan Flayyih Hasan 1 Department of Environment and Pollution, Marshes Research Centre, Thi-Qar University, Iraq M. Gutierrez Jr. Pedro 1 Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, Cebu Normal University, Cebu City, Philippines > Research Paper 2016 5 19 2016 06 10 This study aims to determine the antimitotic activity of the ethanolic leaf extract of C. papaya in the sea urchin (Tripneustes gratilla) embryo. The inhibition of cell proliferation of the crude extract in the sea urchin embryo was observed in three different concentrations (0.5%, 1.00% and 1.5%) of the extract and two control groups. The time interval of each developmental stage of sea urchin’s embryo treated with the different concentrations of the C. papaya extract was higher compared to negative control group. Comparing the results in cleavage of the experimental groups, the lowest concentration (0.50%) of the plant extract showed the fastest mitotic activity compared to other concentrations. On the other hand, the highest concentration (1.50%) showed the slowest embryonic development compared to other treatment concentrations. In addition, 0.50% concentration showed a comparable result with the positive control on the time interval during 2-cell and 4-cell stages. C. papaya leaf extract showed antimitotic activity in the sea urchin embryos. The inhibition of sea urchin’s proliferation in each developmental stage is dependent on the increase plant extract concentration. The mitotic activity inhibition of the various concentrations of the plant extract and the control group is also significantly different at 0.5 level of significant. Tukey pairwise comparison test result showed that most of the compared treatment groups have a significant difference between the time intervals of mitotic activity. In addition, the increasing concentration of the plant extract increased the time interval between developmental stages. The antimitotic ability of the extract can be attributed to the phytochemical component present in the plant. Previous studies revealed that phytochemical analysis of C. papaya contained saponins, cardiac glycosides, and alkaloids. The phytochemical component of C. papaya is a good indicator that its extract is suitable for a better pharmacological feature and a potent anti-cancer agent. Copyright@ International Science Community Association