180 Papaya
16.2.13 Skin Discolouration Activity
Eating too much of a yellow, green or orange-coloured food that contains beta
carotene can cause a benign form of skin discolouration called carotenemia.
The palms of the hands and soles of the feet are the most visible areas of the body
affected by carotenemia. Cutting back on your papaya consumption will resolve the
discolouration of the skin (Aravind et al. 2013).
16.2.14 Anti-Coagulant Activity
Injection of papian extract in a dog increases prothrombin and coagulation threefold.
It is also claimed that the enzyme eliminates necrotic tissues in chronic wounds,
burns and ulcers. Papain is also of commercial importance in the brewery, food and
textile industries (Aravind et al. 2013).
16.2.15 Folk Uses for Major Disease Management
Several farmers, tribes and other communities of Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, India,
Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and so on, are using the papaya parts for the treatment
of different diseases. In rural areas of Afro-Asian countries, medical specialists
are not easily available. Thus, patients try to manage different diseases by local
Ayurvedacharya.
Diagnostic surveys were conducted using both interaction and participatory
rural appraisal (PRA) techniques at Indian Agricultural Research Institute Regional
Station, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar (India). The investigation included individual and
group interviews with 800 respondent farmers with a mission to identify the indig-
enous treatment practices. After locating the indigenous practices, a check list of
12 diseases/disorders was prepared (Table 16.2). Among different diseases, farmers
put jaundice (94.96%) and stomach problems (87.66%) at rank I and dengue (67.38%)
at rank II. Farmers between 46 and 60 years age group possess more traditional
knowledge (91.70%) about the medicament properties of papaya parts and their role
in treatment of different common diseases (Saran et al. 2015).
Traditional knowledge regarding medicinal uses of different parts of papaya and
management of several common diseases by their use depends upon the age group
of farmers and tribals. The knowledge level of farmers/tribals increases with the
increase in age. Experienced people have more traditional knowledge about the
medicament properties of papaya parts and their role in managing different common
diseases (Fig u re 16.1). The farmers in the age group, 46–60 years, possess more
knowledge (91.70%) about the medicinal properties of different parts of papaya,
followed by the age group, 31–45 years (33.3%) and ≤30 years age group (16.70%)
(Saran et al. 2014). Similarly, the age group between 45 and 86 years is more proac-
tive in use of medicinal plants in the management of diabetes mellitus (Vidhyasagar
and Murthy 2013). People aged 40–49 years have the highest frequency of use of
medicinal plants (98.29%). This age group was followed by the 50–59-year-old age
bracket (96.15%), the 30–39-year-old age bracket (94.59%), 60 years and older bracket
(89.36%), the 20–29-year-old bracket (86.91%) and finally the youngest bracket,