Does papaya help treat dengue?

Papaya extracts are used as alternative therapy alongside conventional treatment, but further tests are needed, say doctors

HYDERABAD: While the jury is still out on the fruit, sale and use of papaya leaf extract is seeing a rise in the city, thanks to increase in dengue cases.

The use of papaya for treating several health problems has been documented in texts of traditional medicine, but ever since the country began experiencing regular dengue outbreaks in the last 15 years, the use of papaya leaf for improving platelet count gained momentum. “I have suggested use of papaya extracts to my patients as alternative therapy alongside conventional treatment for dengue but there is lack of rigorous scientific data that proves observation,” said Prof. D. Narasimhlu of Kurnool Medical College, who was earlier the dengue and swine-flu coordinator for Telangana.

Nurseries across the city which usually sold just a sapling or two a day are reporting growth in sale of papaya seeds and saplings. “An elderly man purchased 500 saplings of papaya this week, saying he needed it for medicinal purposes. There is a steady demand for the plant,” said Satyavara Prasad of a popular plant nursery in Jubilee Hills.

Traditional medicine stores too are seeing a surge in demand for dried-leaf extracts. “It is popular among people as dengue medicine. Every year during monsoon we see more sales of papaya extract,” said K. Loknath, of a multi-chain Ayurvedic store in Ameerpet.

Papain and Chymopapain, chemicals in papaya, are believed to improve platelet counts decrease by viral fevers including dengue, HIV, cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma following chemotherapy. During monsoon, dengue is often suspected when a patient’s platelet count rapidly falls. Emergency treatment for dengue involves administering blood plasma with platelets when the count goes below 20,000. Normal platelet count in adults varies between 150,000 and 450,000 per microliter of blood.

Through a clinical study published earlier this month, two physicians of the Department of General Medicine at Osmania General Medicine showed improvements in the counts of 80 patients of which 32 were undergoing chemotherapy, eight affected by dengue, 10 malaria and the rest with thyroid disease which are also known to cause a dip in platelet count. The mean platelet count in dengue patients was 50,300.

Researchers started the patients on 25 ml of papaya extract thrice a day for five days. Their blood samples were collected and tested on all days of treatment. The authors claimed that platelet count of dengue patients climbed to 1.6 lakh at the end of study. Similar increases were seen in other patients. The findings were published in the Journal of Evidence Based Medicine and Healthcare by Dr. Sakuntala Putrevu and Dr. Tirupati Reddy Chirra.

The study has not everybody convinced . Prof. Narasimhlu called for sustained studies to scientifically establish the veracity of ‘strong observations’ while Dr. K. Shankar, Superintendent of Fever Hospital who has seen many a dengue epidemic, does not believe papaya can help. “If platelet count is 10,000, only platelets through plasma infusion can help. Patients with platelet count of 50,000 do not even need hospital admission. We discharge such patients right away,” he said arguing that dengue is self-limiting and in most cases patients get well without active medical intervention.

Ayurvedic doctors agree papaya cannot be used in emergencies but swear by it when the condition is less serious. “I treated a dengue patient with starting platelet count of 40,000. Papaya does work but we cannot recommend it in emergencies,” said Dr. Vamsidhar, who runs an Ayurvedic clinic in Nagole.