Pawpaw, fibre content, micronutrien contents, phytonutrient contents, biological activities and nutraceutical activities

Description :   Pawpaw is a nutritious shrub belongs to custard-apple family offers numerous health benefits. It is

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Pawpaw is a nutritious shrub belongs to custard-apple family offers numerous health benefits. It is native to Southern, Eastern and Midwestern United States. It has been traditionally used for various medicinal and culinary purposes. 

Nutritional profile

• It contains significant amount of carbohydrates
• It also contains fibre, especially flesh of the fruit contains desirable amounts of fibre
• It contains lesser amount of fats and proteins
• It is packed with various micronutrients like Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B complex, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, manganese, magnesium and zinc
• It also contains various phytonutrients that exert several nutraceutical activities

Biological activity

Antioxidant activity

• It is loaded with antioxidants thus its consumption is extremely helpful for decreasing the susceptibility of developing chronic diseases as it helps to fight against oxidative stress
• It is also associated with scavenging free radicals thus help to lessen their concentration, in body, which ultimately help to protect the body from oxidative damages
• It helps to reduce the harmful consequences of reactive oxygen species as well
• It helps to protect various important biological substances of body (like DNA, RNA, proteins, lipids etc) from oxidation thus help to sustain their functionality
• It also helps to promote cellular health and activity by protecting cells from oxidative damages

Anti-carcinogenic activity

• It contains various natural compounds that exert anti-carcinogenic activities
• It helps to hinder the growth of cancerous cells in body
• Consumption of pawpaw or its extract significantly reduces the risk of developing tumor especially in cancer patients
• It has also seen that consumption of pawpaw helps to prevent nausea and other side effects of chemotherapy
• It is very effective for decreasing the prevalence of breast and lung cancer

Anti-inflammatory activity

• It helps to prevent inflammation by reducing the concentration of pro-inflammatory mediators in body
• Various parts of pawpaw plant can be used for treating inflammatory disorders
• It is especially very effective for improving the symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• It plays significant role in reducing pain as well
• It is also associated with preventing various injuries of joints as well as muscle

Antimicrobial activity

• It is widely used as an effective measure for eliminating parasites from body
• Individual suffer from intestinal worm should consume pawpaw especially its seed for expelling parasites from body
• It has seen that using of shampoo, which contains the extract of pawpaw plant is very much effective for removing nits and lice

Role of pawpaw on health and disease prevention

Role on respiratory health

• It has seen that inhaling the plant is extremely effective for calming respiratory complications
• Inhalation of smoke obtained by burning dried pawpaw leaves is also very useful for providing quick relief from asthma attack
• Root of pawpaw has been traditionally used as an imperative natural preventive measure for bronchitis. Boiling the pawpaw root properly and consuming the extract about half glass thrice a day significantly improves the symptoms of bronchitis
• It also helps to prevent normal cough

Role on digestive health

• Consumption of pawpaw is very effective for promoting digestive health
• It helps in easy digestion too. It contains papain (an enzyme), which is considered as one of the most important substances of pawpaw that aids in digestion
• It also helps to promote regularity
• It is associated with improving colonic health as well
• It is very effective for reducing the risk of developing ulceration. It has seen that soaking the fruits along with seed and peel (by simply cutting the fruit into various cubes) in water for three to four days and then its consumption after filtering it (about half glass, three times a day) significantly reduces the prevalence of intestinal ulcer
• Its anti-inflammatory activity is responsible for protecting the gastro intestinal tract from inflammatory damages thus its consumption drastically reduces the prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease
• Pawpaw root is also very useful for curing piles. It is better to consume pawpaw root extracts at least half glass, two times in a day for improving the symptoms of piles

Role on preventing fever

• Fever is not a disease and it is basically considered as a symptom. Fever is characterized by an elevation in body temperature and generally it is caused by microbial infestation
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