Papaya Seeds Eradicate Intestinal Parasites

Harry Hirsute · � #1 � 05-16-2008, 10:38 PM

This is a column, written by Dr. Alan Gaby, from the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients.

Quote:

Papaya seeds eradicate intestinal parasites

Sixty asymptomatic Nigerian children with evidence of intestinal parasites on stool microscopic examination were randomly assigned to receive 20 ml of an elixir containing air-dried and blended Carica papaya seeds (0.2 g/ml; 4 g of seeds) and honey or honey alone (placebo).

Seven days after the treatment, stool examination was negative for parasites in 76.7% of the children receiving active treatment and in 16.7% of those receiving placebo (p < 0.00002).

The stool clearance rates for the various types of parasites were 71.4%-100%: A. lumbricoides, 11 of 13; E. histolytica, 5 of 7; N. americanus, 4 of 5; S. stercoralis, 4 of 4; T. trichiura, 3 of 3; G. lamblia, 2 of 2; and T. saginata, 1 of 1. No adverse effects were seen.

Comment: Seeds of the tropical fruit, Carica papaya, have antihelminthic and anti-amoebic activities and have been used in folk medicine to treat helminthiasis.

The results of the present study indicate that this treatment can eradicate most of the common intestinal parasites. Further studies should compare the effectiveness of papaya seeds to that of conventional medications used to treat parasites.

Okeniyi JAO, et al. Effectiveness of dried Carica papaya seeds against human intestinal parasitosis: a pilot study. J Med Food. 2007;10:194-196.

https://www.townsendletter.com/April2008/litrev0408.htm

scorpiotiger · � #2 � 05-17-2008, 12:29 AM

this is pretty impressive. but.. i wonder how this equates to eating one papaya?

(always trying to translate these studies to real life, so i can drive Harry crazy

)

Health Junkie · � #3 � 05-17-2008, 07:29 AM

Thank you for this article Harry. I am going to be trying this. I am one of those sensitive types and the herbs commonly used such as wormwood are too harsh for me and make me feel extremely nervous. Perhaps if I eat a few papaya seeds daily for a week or two, I will have some results. I have been wanting to find an alternative remedy and this may be it.

HJ

Harry Hirsute · � #4 � 05-17-2008, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpiotiger

this is pretty impressive. but.. i wonder how this equates to eating one papaya?

(always trying to translate these studies to real life, so i can drive Harry crazy

)

Too late, ST. My walls are already padded.

I'm not sure how many seeds, weight-wise, are contained in an average papaya. But, in the study, it appears that 4 grams is the magic number.

HJ and ST,

Keep in mind that the seeds, as used in the study, were blended. Many seeds do not release a sufficient amount of their active-ingredients when they're just masticated. Flax seeds are one common example of this.

I would think that a coffee grinder would work just fine to blend those bad boys up.

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