PAWPAW

 Botanical name: Carica papaya Common Name: Paw Paw, Papaya Local Names: Gwanda (Hausa), Ojo (Igbo), Ibepe (Yoruba) Constituents: enzymes (papain), chymopapain, carpasemire and vitamin C, vitamin A, fibres, beta-carotene, benzylserenol (seeds), sugar (fruit), moisture 90.8%, protein 0.6%, fat 0.1%, minerals 0.5%, fibre 0.8%, carbohydrates 7.2% per 100g of edible papaya. Description/Cultivation Most popular and valuable […]

 Botanical name: Carica papaya

Common Name: Paw Paw, Papaya

Local Names: Gwanda (Hausa), Ojo (Igbo), Ibepe (Yoruba)

Constituents: enzymes (papain), chymopapain, carpasemire and vitamin C, vitamin A, fibres, beta-carotene, benzylserenol (seeds), sugar (fruit), moisture 90.8%, protein 0.6%, fat 0.1%, minerals 0.5%, fibre 0.8%, carbohydrates 7.2% per 100g of edible papaya.

Description/Cultivation

Most popular and valuable fruit, cylindrical or peer shaped with cavity of plenty seeds, grows up to 4-6m high and the male do not produce. It is found in most towns and gardens. When ripe, it changes to bright yellow, appears to have originated from Mexico and Costa Rica. It now cultivated widely in India, China, Brazil, Central Africa, even West Africa especially in Nigeria.

Medicinal & Health Benefits:

·Good whole sum fruit.

·Used as a digestive aid due to protein digestive enzyme and papain is beneficial in gastric juice.

·Seeds are anthelminthic and abortifacient due to papain in the milky juice.

·Leaves are diuretic

·Used to treat constipation, as bleeding piles and diarrhea

·Papaya seeds contain caricin, good for expelling worms and piles, alkaloids carpaine found in the leaves, which destroys intestinal worm, bleeding piles and dyspepsia.

·Unripe pawpaw contracts muscle fibre of the wombs to improve proper menstrual flow

·Seeds are used in liver cirrhosis

·Used in the management of spleen enlargement

·Used as drug for digestive ailment 

·Leaves particularly the yellow is used for malaria fever

·Antioxidant because of its vitamin C and beta-carotene content

 

Economic Uses: 

Papain is an ingredient in Pharmaceutical preparation.

Used in Orthopedic surgery to dissolve nucleus of the intervertebral disk in slipped disk

Health Tips:

·A yellow leaf of pawpaw blended with a glass of water and lemon juice is a good remedy for malaria

·10-20g of latex from the trunk mixed with homeg and warm water acts as a laxative and as a vermifuge.

·Pieces of raw fruit + cumin seeds + pepper + fenugreek seeds is good in the management of spleen enlargement.

·A tablespoonful of fresh juice by grinding seeds mixed with 8 drops of fresh lime juice give 1-2 times daily for 1-2 months is good for management of liver.

·Spleen: Cut the fruit into small pieces and put in vinegar for 1 week, consume 20g of fruit twice daily with meals in the management of enlarged spleen.