Papaya Seeds Benefit

Papaya seeds are the small black seeds of the tropical fruit papaya. The health benefits of the delicious fruit have long been known. The seeds of papaya, on the other hand, all too often end up in the trash. A mistake! Because the papaya seeds are almost more valuable than the fruit.

Papaya Seeds

Papaya seeds are the seeds of the delicious papaya. The papaya, on the other hand, belongs to the melon tree family and therefore looks a bit like a melon.

It is now grown everywhere in the tropics and subtropics and is extremely well known, especially for its enzyme richness. The papaya-specific enzyme is called papain and comes from the group of proteases, i.e. the protein-splitting enzymes.

In the food industry, papain is used as a tenderiser for meat, but in alternative medicine preparations it serves many different purposes: papain contributes to thrombosis prevention, keeps the inner walls of the vessels clean and has an anti-inflammatory effect, so that it can be used for many inflammatory diseases.

The papain, however, is hardly contained in the ripe papaya fruit. However, it is found in large quantities in the peel of the unripe fruit and in the papaya seeds (7).

The seeds also protect the digestive system from intestinal parasites. If there is already a parasite infestation, the seeds ensure the rapid disappearance of the unwanted guests – without having to resort to a chemical club with many side effects.

Effective against intestinal parasites

Even in today’s hygienic world, there are still parasite infestations in the intestine. Usually it is pinworms, which are noticeable by itching in the anal area and are also clearly visible in the stool, often even in the laundry. It is not uncommon for the whole family to become infected as a result. A case for papaya seeds!

Study 1: Papaya seeds work after taking them three times

As early as 1959, a large-scale study took place in India with about 1700 children aged one to five years, all of whom were infested with worms (2). The most common worms were roundworms, nematodes and pinworms. The doctors at the M.Y. Hospital in Indore, India, were finally able to successfully get the treatment of the young patients under control with the help of papaya seeds. The children received 6 of the seeds daily for three days and were examined after 6 weeks. It was found that the seeds had worked almost as well as the drugs that had been administered in a control group.

Study 2: Papaya seeds work after 7 days

A Nigerian study from 2007 led to similarly successful results. It was published in the Journal of Medicinal Food and confirmed the antiparasitic effect of papaya seeds (1).

60 children between the ages of 3 and 6 were included in the study. According to the results of a stool sample, they were all infested with intestinal parasites. Half of the children were given ground dried papaya seeds, which were mixed with honey, the other half received only honey.

Each child in the papaya group now received 20 ml of the papaya seed and honey mixture (which contained 4 g of the papaya seed powder). After 7 days, the children were examined again. Against roundworms, the seeds had an effect of 84.6% (11 out of 13 children no longer had roundworms), against dwarf nematodes an effect of 100% (4 out of 4 children no longer had dwarf nematodes), a success that could not be observed in the honey group.

The effect against whipworm as well as against giardia (Giardia lamblia) and bovine tapeworm was also 100%, which means that all children who previously had the aforementioned worms did not have any worms after ingesting the seeds. In the honey group, almost all the children still had their worms. Side effects were rare. In the papaya group, two children had nausea or thin stools immediately after ingestion.

Study 3: How papaya seeds also have a preventive effect

The seeds also have a preventive effect against parasite infestation. If you take them regularly, this reduces the risk of becoming infected with intestinal parasites, as pointed out by a study from 2018 (10).

Participants in the study were 326 children (4 – 12 years) from East Africa. They were divided into three groups. Group 1 received 300 ml of corn porridge with 10 mg papaya seed powder daily in the morning, group 2 received the porridge without papaya seed powder, while group 3 received albendazole (400 mg), a worm drug, once.

Before the start of the study, the actual condition was determined on the basis of stool samples. Roundworms were particularly common. Ringworms and whipworms also occurred, and in a few children hookworms. After two months, stool samples were examined again. It was shown that the papaya seed powder reduced the number of roundworm eggs by almost 64 percent, while albendazole achieved a reduction of 78.8 percent. In the control group, however, the worm infestation increased slightly.

It was particularly interesting that the papaya group was affected rarely after the study by ringworms, while the children in the albendazole group were even more likely to suffer from ringworm infestation, which could indicate that the drug only kills some worm species in the short term, but tends to weaken the body’s own defenses, so that the patient is subsequently more susceptible to renewed parasite infections.

The researchers from the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi, concluded that porridge enriched with papaya seed powder could be very well integrated into Africa’s deworming programs.

As a worming cure for animals

Papaya seeds could also be used in naturopathic veterinary medicine. As a worming program, the dried and ground kernels are just as well tolerated and effective in many animals as they are in humans. There are several reports of experience according to which many farmers, especially in tropical and subtropical countries, successfully and regularly deworm their dogs, sheep and cattle with the seeds of papaya.

In a Nigerian study published in the African Journal of Biotechnology in 2005, the use of the seeds was tested on pigs infected with parasites. These were knotworms, pig whipworms and nematodes. The papaya seeds managed to deworm in 90 percent of the cases (3).

Against bacterial infections

In 2008, the University of Gondar in Ethiopia addressed the question of the antibacterial properties of papaya seeds (9).

It was shown that the seeds have a good effect against bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi (causative agent of typhoid fever) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and can inhibit the growth of these bacteria.

Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas in particular are responsible for the increasingly common hospital infections and often have antibiotic resistance. These bacteria can cause infections of all kinds, e.g. bladder infections, pneumonia, skin infections or even (in newborns) umbilical infections.

So it is definitely worthwhile to take a bag of papaya seeds with you to the hospital – if a stay there cannot be avoided – and to chew some seeds regularly (of course, only if your doctor does not mind and your condition allows it).

Whether an animal or human is attacked by parasites or bacteria depends on the type of intruder, but also on the resistance of the respective person and their immune system.

The papaya seeds show a double effectiveness here. On the one hand, they help to destroy the unwanted parasites and on the other hand, they strengthen the immune system – as explained below – and make the body fit for the fight against its attackers.

Papaya seeds strengthen the immune system and activate immune cells

A study by the University of the Philippines in 2003 showed that papaya seeds stimulate the immune system and thus strengthen the immune system (6).

So if you want to do a program with papaya seeds, for example to fight or prevent internal parasites, then you are not only freeing yourself of parasites, but you also have an increased immune system.

With conventional anti-parasitic drugs (antihelminthics), on the other hand, you not only have to reckon with side effects such as stomach ache, flatulence, diarrhea and headaches. In addition, these drugs can also put a strain on the liver, which is why some antihelminthics may not be taken at all if there is already existing liver damage. Papaya seeds, however, even protect the liver:

For the liver

There are always indications and testimonials that papaya seeds can play an extremely helpful role in the detoxification and regeneration of the liver. The valuable active ingredients of the seeds are even said to be helpful in liver cirrhosis.

Reports recommend the daily consumption of 5 to 6 dried seeds. You should finely grind the seeds and take them with a juice (e.g. lime juice).

After just 30 days of use, such a program is said to be able to lead to amazingly positive results in terms of liver health – which is said to be a merit of the papain it contains.

Papain activates the growth hormone somatropin via various detours. This is extremely important for cell renewal and cell regeneration in the liver and it has long been known that an overworked liver recovers more easily if enough somatropin can be produced in the organism.

Therefore, incorporate papaya seeds into your liver cleansing program or into your liver regeneration measures. The effort is minimal. You simply chew 5 papaya seeds several times a day or grind them and take with the lime juice.

A completely different possible field of activity for the seeds of the tropical fruit has been researched since at least the 1970s: contraception for men

As a contraceptive for men?

In June 2014, the men’s magazine “Men’s Health” examined men’s preferred contraceptive methods in an online survey. 55 percent of the almost 1000 participants preferred the pill for contraception and thus put contraception “confidently” in the hands of the woman.

Only 30 percent do not want to leave protection against an unwanted pregnancy to women alone and therefore use condoms.

If there were a contraceptive for men that was equivalent to the pill and easy to use, women could finally entrust contraception to the men’s world – after many decades of taking the pill.

However, it remains to be seen whether papaya seeds or extracts from them will prove to be on par with the pill. However, primitive peoples are said to have used it for contraception in ancient times.

Primitive peoples once used papaya seeds for contraception

The men of traditional tribes in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia are said to have once used papaya seeds as a herbal contraceptive method. To do this, they ate one spoonful of the seeds per day and are said to have been infertile after three months with this dose. (5).

This contraceptive method would have no side effects, at least not negative ones. In addition, fertility returns after a few weeks to months if the intake of the seeds is interrupted. It would therefore be a good idea to develop an extract from the seeds that could be used in a targeted and well-dosed way for contraception and is able to suppress the formation of sperm effectively and for a long time.

There are no corresponding studies on humans on this topic yet, but in monkeys and rats a papaya seed extract – according to the following studies – has a very good contraceptive effect.

Papaya seeds are contraceptive in animals

In 2002, a team of researchers led by Prof. N. K. Lohiya investigated the sperm quality of male langur monkeys that received a preparation containing papaya seed extract, among other things (4).

The extract gradually decreased sperm concentration, while the motility of the existing sperm was completely inhibited and sperm viability decreased.

After 90 days of treatment, complete azoospermia was achieved, i.e. no mature male sperm cells were found in the ejaculate. During the entire remaining research period of 270 days, infertility persisted.

After discontinuation of the extract, the sperm count and quality gradually recovered. 150 days after the end of the experiment, values were almost reached again as at the beginning of the investigations.

Papaya seeds were similarly successful in a test run in 2010 (8). Here they provided reliable contraception in male rats. Even after a 52-week contraceptive period, there were no side effects.

The papaya seed extract was used in concentrations between 100 and 500 mg/kg body weight and was sufficient in this amount to make all rats infertile.

However, extracts were used in these animal studies and not simply the seeds. The intake of papaya seeds alone would therefore probably be a rather unsafe method of contraception.

The application

Papaya seeds can be taken in the following ways:

With their peppery, hot aroma, they are dried (or bought dried), filled into the pepper mill and from now on season your food – instead of pepper.

However, you can also simply chew the seeds. A practical side effect is that any bad breath that may be present has disappeared after chewing the seeds.

Papaya seeds are also available ground. The powder can be mixed into dressings, shakes, juices and smoothies.

If you want to use the seeds therapeutically, you should chew 5 – 6 of them several times a day (or take the appropriate amount of powder from the ground seeds with a little water, plant-based milk or juice) – preferably after eating. Otherwise, sensitive stomachs could react with nausea or the like.

This procedure should be carried out as a program (e.g. for 2 to 3 weeks, then 1 week break, then again for 2 to 3 weeks) to avoid habituation effects, but of course until the parasites have disappeared.

Where to buy papaya seeds?

You can buy fresh papayas, take some of the seeds fresh and dry the rest in stock. However, the seeds must be carefully separated from the pulp and dried thoroughly so that they do not mold, which would be very counterproductive, as mold toxins are enormously harmful. However, if the seeds are dried at too high temperatures, this in turn damages the enzymes they contain.

High-quality dried papaya seeds and the powder from them are now also available in stores. Choose some that are dried at temperatures of no more than 42 degrees and are therefore available in raw food quality.

You may want to use a fresh papaya to obtain the seeds yourself. You can also try the papaya recipes below:

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