5/13/07
Papaya - Medicinal Uses, Interactions, Side Effects, Dosage
Author: Steve Mathew
Papaya
Found in tropical countries, the papaya tree is also known as the pawpaw or melon tree. The seeds, leaves, and fruit have all been used in folk medicine. The sap or latex, a milky fluid collected from the mature unripe fruit, is known as crude papain when dried.
Uses and Benefits:
Commercially available papain, a mixture of proteolytic enzymes, is the active ingredient in meat tenderizers; it softens the meat by partially digesting the proteins. Contained in contact lens cleansers, dentifrices, and cosmetics, the enzyme is also used to clarify beer. Papain is available in FDA-approved topical preparations as an enzymatic debridement for necrotic tissue in burns, ulcers, and other wounds. A specific purified fraction, chymopapain, is approved for chemonucleosis (the treatment of herniated intervertebral discs by injection), which has largely fallen out of favor due to allergic and other adverse reactions.
As an herbal dietary supplement, oral papain is most often recommended as a digestive aid (especially with proteinrich meals) and for dyspepsia. Papaya preparations have also been used traditionally for inflammatory disorders, hemorrhoids, intestinal worms, diarrhea, tumors, and respiratory infections. It is used in some cultures to induce abortion and labor, and is employed topically for psoriasis, ringworm, wounds, ulcers, and infections.
Pharmacology:
Crude papain, also called "vegetable pepsin," is an enzyme mixture from the dried latex of the fruit, and is also found in the leaves and trunk. It is composed of related prote
About Author:
N/A
¶ 7:58 PM
Author: Steve Mathew
Papaya
Found in tropical countries, the papaya tree is also known as the pawpaw or melon tree. The seeds, leaves, and fruit have all been used in folk medicine. The sap or latex, a milky fluid collected from the mature unripe fruit, is known as crude papain when dried.
Uses and Benefits:
Commercially available papain, a mixture of proteolytic enzymes, is the active ingredient in meat tenderizers; it softens the meat by partially digesting the proteins. Contained in contact lens cleansers, dentifrices, and cosmetics, the enzyme is also used to clarify beer. Papain is available in FDA-approved topical preparations as an enzymatic debridement for necrotic tissue in burns, ulcers, and other wounds. A specific purified fraction, chymopapain, is approved for chemonucleosis (the treatment of herniated intervertebral discs by injection), which has largely fallen out of favor due to allergic and other adverse reactions.
As an herbal dietary supplement, oral papain is most often recommended as a digestive aid (especially with proteinrich meals) and for dyspepsia. Papaya preparations have also been used traditionally for inflammatory disorders, hemorrhoids, intestinal worms, diarrhea, tumors, and respiratory infections. It is used in some cultures to induce abortion and labor, and is employed topically for psoriasis, ringworm, wounds, ulcers, and infections.
Pharmacology:
Crude papain, also called "vegetable pepsin," is an enzyme mixture from the dried latex of the fruit, and is also found in the leaves and trunk. It is composed of related prote
About Author:
N/A
¶ 7:58 PM
