Therapeutic Potential of Carica papaya Linn.: A Comprehensive Review of Its Pharmacological Properties and Health Benefits, with Emphasis on Dengue Fever Healing

Abstract

For thousands of years, people have used various plant products, foods, spices, and herbs to treat and prevent illnesses. Sri Lankans have been using traditional and folk medicine to satisfy their basic health needs from the earliest days. Carica papaya Linn. (Caricaceae) is a commercially grown exotic plant in Sri Lanka. The entire plant, including the fruits both ripened and green, leaves, roots, peel, seed, and pulp, was used as medicine in traditional medicinal systems. Plant parts of Carica papaya Linn. were frequently used by ancient Sri Lankans to treat diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cancer, dengue fever, skin infections, renal disorders, and infections caused by bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. Dengue fever is the most prevalent and significant arthropod-borne viral disease in humans, and it is extensively spread throughout Sri Lanka. Carica papaya Linn. extracts have been used to treat dengue patients to recover from its complications, which include thrombocytopenia, hemolysis, and leukopenia. Studies reveal that the papaya leaf extract can neutralize plasma with the dengue virus, reduce platelet aggregation, and increase the production of the enzyme ALOX12, which promotes platelet production. Moreover, the extract also upregulates the platelet-activating factor receptor (PTAFR) gene and inhibits serine proteases NS2B and NS3 involved in dengue virus replication. In this review, we have discussed extensively the ethnomedicinal and pharmacological properties of Carica papaya while highlighting its remarkable potency in healing dengue.