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Papaya as a Medicinal Plant

Abstract

Papaya has been used medicinally to treat an extremely broad range of ailments including intestinal worms, dengue fever, diabetes, hypertension, wound repair, and as an abortion agent. Although papaya is most commonly consumed as a ripe fruit, the plant tissues used as curatives are mainly derived from the seeds, young leaves, latex, or green immature fruit. The agents responsible for action have not been conclusively identified for all uses, but there is increasing evidence that activity may be attributable to benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) in the case of anthelmintic and abortifacient action, and to the protease papain, and possibly chymopapain, in relation to wound repair. The location of these compounds in papaya tissues is likely to explain why different tissues are used for different ailments. Seeds, young leaves, and latex are good sources of BITC and are consequently used as a curative for intestinal worms. Immature green fruit is a good source of protease and is used as a topical application for burn wounds to accelerate tissue repair. The type of papaya tissue used may therefore provide a clue as to the active agent in ailments where papaya extracts have exhibited some activity (diabetes, hypertension, dengue fever). However, the compound(s) responsible for action remains to be identified. Modes of action of papaya extracts vary, but may include lowering blood glucose levels (diabetes), vascular muscle relaxation (hypertension), increasing blood cell count (dengue fever), stimulation of cell proliferation (wound healing), spasmodic contraction of uterine muscles (abortion), and induction of phase 2 enzymes (cancer chemoprevention). Although there has been increased study over the last decade into the physiological mode of action of papaya extracts, further increase in the knowledge of the compounds responsible for curative action will help to transfer the use of papaya from folklore remedies to mainstream medicinal use.

Origin and distribution C. papaya has not been found wild in nature and is only distantly related to the Vasconcella species, based upon isozyme and AFLP analysis. The greatest diversity in C. papaya exists in the Yucatan–San Ignacio–Peter–Rio Motagua area of Central America. The volunteer population in this area has greater diversity than domesticated populations (Morshidi, 1996; Van Droogenbroeck et al., 2002). Papaya origins are rather uncertain, but there is some agreement among botanists that it originated in the lowlands of Central America, between southern Mexico and Nicaragua. Early distribution over a wide geographical region in Central and South America was aided by the abundance of seeds in the fruit and the seeds long viability. The accounts of 18th-century travellers and botanists indicated that seeds of papaya had been taken from the Caribbean to Malacca and on to India (Storey, 1941a). From Malacca or the Philippines, distribution continued throughout Asia and to the South Pacifi c region. Don Francisco Marín, a Spanish explorer and horticulturist, is credited with the introduction of papaya into Hawaii from the Marquesas Islands during the early 1800s. Papaya is now grown in all tropical countries and in many subtropical regions of the world (Anonymous, 2003).:

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16.2.5 ANTI-INflAMMATORY ACTIVITY The papaya leaf extract was examined in rats using oedema, granuloma and arthritis models. The extract showed significant reduction in paw oedema, granuloma formation and reduced inflammation in rats (Owoyele et al. 2008). Intake of papaya fruits in healthy individuals alleviated anti-inflammatory response mediated through regulatory T-cells (Abdullah et al. 2011). However, the latex obtained from unripe fruit has the property of inducing inflammation and it has been proved in rat as a model for testing the anti-inflammatory activity of compounds (Gupta et al. 1992). Protein enzymes including papain and chymopapain and antioxidant nutrients found in papaya, including vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene, reduce the severity of the conditions such as asthma, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.