A papaya tree can be male, female or hermaphrodite (with both male and female parts). Males make only pollen. Females give small, inedible fruit unless pollinated, but hermaphrodites can pollinate themselves, so almost every commercial orchard is planted with hermaphrodites.
Papaya is also the only species in its genus, Carica. Its closest living relatives are thin-stemmed or herbaceous plants from Mexico and Guatemala.
The orange flesh holds lycopene, beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin, and people seem to absorb them well. In a crossover trial of 16 adults, beta-carotene was about three times more available from papaya than from raw carrots or tomatoes. A cup of diced papaya (145 g) has 62 calories and 88 mg of vitamin C. That is 98% of the Daily Value, the FDA’s daily target.
Be aware that studies of the fruit itself in people are few and small. Much of what is quoted about papaya comes from leaf extract (dengue), fermented papaya powders or seeds. Those are not the same as eating the fruit, so each card below says which form was tested.
Green papaya and its latex are rich in papain, an enzyme used to tenderize meat that also stops gelatin from setting.
Health benefits of papaya
The top findings from 19 studies, strongest evidence first
What the stars mean
- Strong. Several randomized trials, pooled in a meta-analysis, point the same way, or regulators (FDA or EFSA) have approved the claim.
- Moderate. Good randomized trials support it, but there are fewer of them, or their results vary.
- Limited. Small, short or single trials, or mixed results. Promising, but it needs confirmation.
Population and lab studies get no stars: they show a link or a mechanism, not proof.
How we rate evidence →- ★More absorbable beta-carotene and vitamin APapaya gave about three times more absorbable beta-carotene than carrots or tomatoes in 16 healthy people. In breastfeeding women in Zimbabwe, 650 g of puréed papaya a day raised blood vitamin A.
- ★Medium effect on blood sugarPapaya had a medium glycemic index of 58 in 10 healthy volunteers (a score for how much a food raises blood sugar, versus glucose). In 10 people with type 2 diabetes, papaya raised blood sugar less than glucose did.
- ★Higher platelets in dengue with leaf extractPooled trials of papaya leaf extract, not the fruit, found higher platelet counts and 1.9 fewer hospital days in dengue. The authors call the evidence low quality and ask for larger trials.
- ★Fewer stool parasites with papaya seedsDried papaya seeds in honey cleared stool parasites in 76.7% of 30 Nigerian children, against 16.7% on honey alone. This used seeds, not fruit flesh.
- ★Less constipation and bloating, but it fadedA commercial papaya preparation, not fresh fruit, eased constipation and bloating in people with chronic indigestion. The benefits were gone after a washout period.
All 19 studies, strongest evidence first
Papaya gave about three times more absorbable beta-carotene than carrots or tomatoes
In this trial, 16 healthy people ate raw papaya, carrot and tomato meals in random order (a randomized crossover trial). The meals were matched for beta-carotene and lycopene, and blood fractions were checked for 9.5 hours. Lycopene was about 2.6 times more available from papaya than from tomato, and retinyl esters, a form of vitamin A, rose more after papaya. It measured absorption, not health outcomes.
Puréed papaya raised blood vitamin A in breastfeeding women in Zimbabwe
In this placebo-controlled trial, breastfeeding women with babies aged 2 to 12 months ate 650 g of puréed papaya a day for 60 days. Others got 100 g of grated carrots, 6 mg beta-carotene capsules or a placebo, all with a meal holding 10 g of vegetable oil. Retinol (blood vitamin A) rose in the papaya, carrot and capsule groups, but not on placebo. Hemoglobin rose more with papaya than with placebo; the abstract gives no group sizes.
Fresh papaya and juice gave more available carotenoids than dried slices
This one-day study in Cameroon gave 7 healthy volunteers per fruit (papaya or mango) bread, yogurt and juice, fresh fruit or dried slices at breakfast. Blood was taken at 0, 4 and 8 hours, and all three forms raised serum retinol (blood vitamin A). Lycopene and cryptoxanthin, the main papaya carotenoids, appeared in low amounts in the chylomicrons (fat-carrying particles in blood). It was tiny and short.
Papaya raised regulatory T cells and lowered inflammatory ones in healthy adults
This small study in Malaysia measured immune cells in blood from 13 to 15 healthy people after they ate papaya. The counts used 13 people for the inflammatory IFN-gamma cells and the IL-4 cells, and 15 for regulatory T cells. The abstract does not state how much papaya was eaten or whether there was a control group. These are immune cell counts, not illness.
Papaya had a medium glycemic index of 58 in healthy volunteers
Ten healthy volunteers ate portions of papaya, pineapple, watermelon, durian and glucose, each holding 50 g of available carbohydrate. The glycemic index shows how much a food raises blood sugar compared with pure glucose. Pineapple (82) was clearly higher than papaya, while papaya did not differ clearly from watermelon (55) or durian (49). Each test fruit was tested once.
In type 2 diabetes, papaya raised blood sugar less than glucose
Ten people with type 2 diabetes ate portions of five fruits with 50 g of carbohydrate each, and glucose, in random order a week apart. Peak blood glucose was 7.8 mmol/L after papaya (called pawpaw in Nigeria), against 9.0 for banana and 9.2 for pineapple. It was 8.1 for orange and 8.0 for mango. Differences between the fruits could be chance, and only 10 people took part.
A papaya preparation eased constipation and bloating, but the effect faded
In this double-blind trial against a placebo (a dummy product), volunteers with chronic indigestion took 20 ml a day of Caricol for 40 days. Caricol is a commercial papaya preparation, not fresh fruit. Only the treated people who returned within two days improved on constipation and bloating, and heartburn did not clearly improve (13 cases). The benefits were gone after a washout period, and the abstract gives no group sizes.
Fermented papaya lowered C-reactive protein and improved uric acid in diabetes
This randomized trial in Mauritius tested a fermented papaya preparation, a supplement and not fresh fruit, against a control group. People with newly diagnosed diabetes took 6 g a day for 14 weeks; C-reactive protein is a marker of inflammation. The LDL/HDL ratio (“bad” to “good” cholesterol) also changed, but the abstract does not say in which direction. Serum ferritin differed between groups, and the abstract gives no sample size.
Fermented papaya did not change inflammation markers in adults 70 and older
In this randomized crossover trial, 30 adults aged 70 to 100 took 9 g a day of a fermented papaya supplement or placebo. Each lasted 8 weeks, with a 4-week washout in between. Metabolic outcomes did not change either, blood chemistry showed no harmful changes, and 29 people finished. It was a safety study, not a test of benefit.
Papaya leaf extract may cut dengue hospital stays by about 2 days
This systematic review pooled 9 trials of leaf extract, not the fruit, in people with dengue; seven showed higher platelet counts and one did not. In 3 studies (129 people), the platelet gain from day 1 to day 5 was higher by a mean difference of 35.45. Serious side effects were not reported, but the evidence is low quality and the authors call it insufficient. They also say a platelet count is not a clinical outcome.
Pooled leaf extract trials found higher platelets and 1.9 fewer hospital days
This meta-analysis pooled 4 randomized trials of leaf extract, not the fruit, in dengue, with 439 people enrolled and 377 analyzed. Platelets were higher overall (mean difference 20.27) and after day 4 (28.25), but not at 48 hours. Deaths and side effects could not be pooled, and the authors ask for large, high-quality trials.
Dried papaya seeds in honey cleared stool parasites in 76.7% of children
This randomized pilot tested papaya seeds, not fruit flesh, in 60 Nigerian children with parasites in their stools but no symptoms. In groups of 30, they took 20 ml of the seed and honey elixir or honey alone, with a repeat stool sample 7 days later. On honey alone, stools cleared in 16.7%. No harmful effects were reported, and the authors call for larger trials against standard drugs.
Papaya seed porridge cut Ascaris worm eggs by 63.9%; albendazole by 78.8%
This pilot trial in Kenya followed 326 schoolchildren in three schools for 2 months, one school per arm. The arms were seed-fortified porridge daily, plain porridge, or plain porridge plus a single 400 mg dose of the deworming drug albendazole. It was registered after the fact. Hemoglobin rose in the seed group (from 11.5 to 13.5 g/dL), and the abstract notes the seeds are not fruit flesh.
Papaya is one of four fruits most often involved in latex-fruit syndrome
This systematic review covered people with latex allergy who also react to certain fruits (latex-fruit syndrome). Besides papaya, banana, avocado and kiwifruit were most often involved. The share of latex-allergic people with the syndrome varied widely, from 4 to 88%, depending on the tests, region and study size. Of the fruit reactions, 73% were systemic (whole-body) and 27% local, across many fruits, not papaya alone.
Of 341 allergic patients, none sensitized to papaya’s enzyme had symptoms
In this Italian study, 133 patients (39%) had IgE (allergy antibodies) to at least one of seven papain-like enzymes from fruits, latex or dust mites. Most had IgE to the mite proteins, and none sensitized to the papaya enzyme reported symptoms after eating papaya. Sensitization to the fruit enzymes only rarely came with food allergy, and the authors suggest allergy to these enzymes may mostly come from work. Some authors have ties to the company that makes the test.
Latex-allergic people who react to papaya risk anaphylaxis, a small study found
This snapshot (cross-sectional) study in Mexico looked at 11 patients with latex allergy and a clinical diagnosis of papaya-induced anaphylaxis. They were aged 7 to 46, and 72.7% were female. Risk factors were multiple surgeries, other allergic disease and working in health care. The patients were chosen because of papaya reactions, so it shows what can happen, not how often.
In rats, ripe papaya did no harm; crude latex contracted uterine muscle
This study used rats and isolated rat uterine tissue, not people. Pregnant rats drank a ripe papaya blend (500 ml per liter of water) at different stages of pregnancy. The authors say normal ripe papaya is unlikely to be dangerous. But unripe or semi-ripe fruit, which holds more latex, could be unsafe in pregnancy, and they call for human studies.
Unripe papaya extract protected blood vessel cells from oxidative damage
This cell study used a human blood-vessel cell line damaged with hydrogen peroxide. The extract showed antioxidant activity in chemical tests and raised SOD, an antioxidant enzyme. It increased catalase when cells were stressed and lowered nuclear NF-kB. This is lab work on an extract, not a study in people.
Papaya seed extracts stopped several bacteria from growing in lab dishes
This lab test covered eight kinds of bacteria, and extracts of the skin and inner wall did not stop them. Seed extracts from immature, mature and ripe fruit worked about equally, with Bacillus cereus inhibited most, then E. coli. This was a dish test of seeds, not a study in people.
Who should be careful with papaya
Most people can eat papaya freely. Take a little care if one of these applies:
- Latex allergy. Papaya is one of the four fruits most often involved when latex allergy cross-reacts with food. A Mexican series of 11 people described anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction) from papaya. Most people with latex allergy do not react: the share of latex-allergic people with the syndrome ranges from 4 to 88% across studies. In an Italian study, sensitization to papaya’s enzyme rarely came with symptoms. If you have latex allergy, ask your allergist before trying it.
- Pregnancy and unripe papaya. In a rat study, ripe papaya caused no harm. But papaya latex, which is richer in unripe and half-ripe fruit, made uterine muscle contract. No study has tested this in pregnant women, so skip green papaya while pregnant and ask your doctor or midwife.
How to choose, store and eat papaya
- Fresh, ripe flesh: in a trial of 16 adults, beta-carotene was about three times more available from raw papaya than from raw carrots or tomatoes. A cup of cubes (145 g) has 62 calories.
- Juice or dried: in Cameroon, fresh papaya and papaya juice gave higher carotenoid availability than dried slices in 7 volunteers per fruit.
- Green (unripe) papaya: it holds more latex and the enzyme papain, so skip it in pregnancy and with latex allergy.
Papaya is sensitive to cold. In a lab study, fruit held at 7°C developed water-soaked flesh by day 20 and stopped coloring and softening after 25 days. So ripen firm fruit on the counter and chill only ripe fruit.
Wash the skin under running water before you cut it. Imported Maradol papayas caused four US Salmonella outbreaks with 244 illnesses in 2016 and 2017. The CDC (the US public health agency) advises washing produce even if you do not eat the peel.
As for pesticides, in USDA tests of 366 papayas in 2012, 58.5% had no detectable residue and none was above a legal limit.
Sources
- Adebiyi A, Adaikan PG, Prasad RN. Papaya (Carica papaya) consumption is unsafe in pregnancy: fact or fable? Scientific evaluation of a common belief in some parts of Asia using a rat model. Br J Nutr. 2002.
- Gromek W, Kołdej N, Świtała S, et al. Revisiting latex-fruit syndrome after 30 years of research: a comprehensive literature review and description of two cases. J Clin Med. 2024.
- Rojas-Mandujano V, González-Juárez K, Hernández-Fernández C, et al. Latex-papaya syndrome: an infrequent association. Rev Alerg Mex. 2018.
- Giangrieco I, Ciardiello MA, Tamburrini M, et al. Comparative analysis of the immune response and the clinical allergic reaction to papain-like cysteine proteases from fig, kiwifruit, papaya, pineapple and mites in an Italian population. Foods. 2023.
- Schweiggert RM, Kopec RE, Villalobos-Gutierrez MG, et al. Carotenoids are more bioavailable from papaya than from tomato and carrot in humans: a randomised cross-over study. Br J Nutr. 2014.
- Gouado I, Schweigert FJ, Ejoh RA, Tchouanguep MF, Camp JV. Systemic levels of carotenoids from mangoes and papaya consumed in three forms (juice, fresh and dry slice). Eur J Clin Nutr. 2007.
- Zou Y, Zhang L, Rao S, et al. The relationship between the expression of ethylene-related genes and papaya fruit ripening disorder caused by chilling injury. PLoS One. 2014.
- Hassan R, Whitney B, Williams DL, et al. Multistate outbreaks of Salmonella infections linked to imported Maradol papayas, United States, December 2016 to September 2017. Epidemiol Infect. 2019.
- 2017 Salmonella infections linked to imported Maradol papayas: recall and advice to consumers, restaurants, and retailers. CDC. 2017.
- Pesticide Data Program annual summary, calendar year 2012. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.
- Papaya. Wikipedia.
History of papaya
Papaya was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, in what is now southern Mexico and Central America. A study of the papaya family found that Carica papaya is closest to Jarilla and Horovitzia, two small groups from Mexico and Guatemala. They split from the South American papayas about 27 million years ago.
The word comes from the Arawakan languages of the West Indies and appeared in English around 1600. In Australia the fruit is also called papaw or pawpaw, which in the United States is the name of an unrelated tree, Asimina triloba.
Spaniards carried papaya to the Old World in the 16th century. Accounts suggest seeds went from the Caribbean to Malacca and then to India. From there, or from the Philippines, they spread across Asia and the South Pacific.
In the Philippines it arrived on the Manila galleons. In Hawaii the credit often goes to Francisco de Paula Marín, who brought it from the Marquesas Islands in the early 1800s.
In Hawaii, papaya ringspot virus threatened the crop. Scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi worked from cross protection to papaya that carries the virus’s coat protein gene. Genetically altered varieties, including SunUp and Rainbow, reached the market in 1998.
The university gave the seeds to farmers free of charge. By 2010 about 80% of Hawaiian papaya plants were genetically modified.
In 2008 researchers published the draft genome of SunUp, the first commercial virus-resistant transgenic fruit tree to be sequenced. The papaya genome is three times the size of the Arabidopsis genome but holds fewer genes.
Sources
- Carvalho FA, Renner SS. A dated phylogeny of the papaya family (Caricaceae) reveals the crop’s closest relatives and the family’s biogeographic history. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2012.
- Gonsalves D. Control of papaya ringspot virus in papaya: a case study. Annu Rev Phytopathol. 1998.
- Ming R, Hou S, Feng Y, et al. The draft genome of the transgenic tropical fruit tree papaya (Carica papaya Linnaeus). Nature. 2008.
- Papaya. Wikipedia.
- Genetically modified papaya. Wikipedia.
Frequently asked questions about papaya
Is papaya good for you?
For most people, yes. A cup of diced papaya (145 g) has 62 calories and 88 mg of vitamin C, 98% of the Daily Value. In a 16-person trial, its carotenoids were about three times more available than those in raw carrots or tomatoes. Studies of the fruit itself in people are few and small, so no finding here goes beyond limited evidence.
Is papaya good for diabetes?
It can fit, but watch portions. In 10 people with type 2 diabetes, papaya raised blood glucose less than glucose and about as much as banana, orange, pineapple or mango. A Malaysian test in 10 healthy people gave a medium glycemic index of 58, but this page’s table lists 38, so values differ by method. A cup has 13.2 g of net carbs, and your care team can help with portions.
Is papaya good for constipation?
Possibly, but no trial tested the fresh fruit. A 40-day trial of a papaya preparation, 20 ml a day, eased constipation and bloating in one subgroup, and the effect faded after stopping. Papaya has 2.5 g of fiber per cup (1.7 g per 100 g), a modest amount.
Can you eat papaya seeds?
Yes, the black seeds are edible, with a sharp, spicy taste, but the evidence is thin. In a pilot trial in 60 Nigerian children, an elixir of dried seeds and honey cleared intestinal parasites in 76.7%. Honey alone cleared them in 16.7%. The seed trials here were in children and none set an everyday amount.
Is papaya safe during pregnancy?
Ripe papaya has not been shown to be harmful, but unripe and half-ripe fruit is the concern. In rats, ripe papaya caused no harm, while papaya latex, richer in unripe fruit, made uterine muscle contract. No study has tested this in pregnant women, so skip green papaya and ask your doctor or midwife.
Is papaya good for weight loss?
No study tested that. Raw papaya has 43 calories and 1.7 g of fiber per 100 g, so it fills a plate cheaply. That is a swap effect for higher-calorie foods, not a proven effect of papaya itself.
Does papaya have a lot of vitamin C?
Yes. Raw papaya has 60.9 mg of vitamin C per 100 g (68% of the Daily Value) and 88.3 mg per cup (98%). Gram for gram, only 12 of the 99 foods we compared have more.
Does papaya leaf juice raise platelets in dengue?
Leaf extract may, but this is not the fruit and the evidence is weak. Two meta-analyses found higher platelet counts and about 2 fewer hospital days in small, low-quality trials. The authors call the evidence insufficient. Dengue can turn severe, so see a doctor instead of treating it at home.