Papaya leaf extract may find application in the fight against cancer. Scientists in the USA and Japan have just shown that it inhibits the growth of cells from cervical, breast, lung and pancreatic cancer.
Information on this subject is published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology.
In their laboratory tests, researchers from the University of Florida and colleagues from Japan used an extract obtained from dried papaya leaves. They added it in four different concentrations to cultures of cells from 10 different malignant tumors and checked its effects after 24 hours.
The extract slowed down the division of all neoplastic cells, and the best results were obtained in the highest concentration.
More detailed analyzes of the culture of T-cell lymphoma cells (i.e. derived from T lymphocytes) have shown that papaya works by, inter alia, on stimulating the suicidal death of cancer cells.
Scientists also observed that the extract from the leaves of this plant stimulates immune cells to produce Th1-type cytokines. These compounds regulate the activity of Th1 helper lymphocytes and therefore play an important role in the fight against cancer by the body.
In their opinion, this suggests that the ingredients present in the papaya leaf extract can be used in the future not only in the treatment of cancer, but also in many diseases related to disorders of the immune system, such as inflammatory or autoimmune diseases.
Importantly, papaya extract had no toxic effect on healthy cells present in the culture, avoiding the side effects so typical of many cancer treatments.
Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal of the University of Texas, who did not participate in the study, commented that the latest results have yet to be verified in animal and human tests.
However, the researcher is deeply convinced of the anti-cancer properties of papaya – so much so that he eats one fruit every day. While the exact ingredients of papaya have not been tested in recent studies to have anti-cancer properties, Dr. Aggarwal suspects the enzyme papain may be one of them. (PAP)