[Manos]

Low platelet counts and papaya

by Manos on Fri Aug 30, 2013 4:01 pm

Hello,

My dad has multiple myeloma and is being on various treaments for the past 5 years. Although up till recently he seemed to be doing well the situation changed dramaticaly. One of the most important problems we are facing is the very low platelet count which is around 10.000 for a month now and for the past two weeks he had to have several platelet trasfutions to keep them from falling even further. Also we have to do some blood transfutions as hematocrit is low as well but this seems somehow improved lately.

I have read on several sources about papaya leaf extract to have a significant effect on platelet increase, while some of the sources were related clinical studies published on jourmals, not only the usual internet mumbo-jumbo about miracle therapies (there were of course lots of them as well).

Interestingly there were also a couple of articles on the Myeloma Beacon about Papaya and Papain effects (https://myelomabeacon.org/search/papaya ) .

However (though probably expectedly), when we asked the doctor about trying it she was quite negative (or cautious), and said that she doen't have time to worry about papayas, and that she has no clue if it could have a negative effect on him, so if we use it, we do it in our own risk.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has tried it and if there were any results or side effects.

Here are some sources (most platelet research has been done on Dengue fever - if you search the web for platelets and papaya leaf extract you will find several stuff - serious or not):

Carica papaya Leaves Juice Significantly Accelerates the Rate of Increase in Platelet Count among Patients with Dengue Fever and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/616737/

Papaya leaf extract – wonder drug for dengue patients?
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2010/07/25/fea02.asp

http://tribune.com.pk/story/254685/true-story-from-platelets-to-papaya-leaves-my-brush-with-dengue/

[Multibilly]

Re: Low platelet counts and papaya

by Multibilly on Sat Nov 09, 2013 9:24 am

See http://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/herb/papaya-leaf

I'm a believer in alternative medications and integrative medicine (as well as conventional medicine), but I'd be careful with this one. MSKCC doesn't warn against all alternative medications (e.g. curcumin, IP6, etc), but they do warn against this one.