Science: Papaya Leaf Juice Helps Recovery Of Dengue Patients. Here’s How You Can Prepare It
Papaya leaf juice should only be used in addition to medical Dengue management.
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Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms and can develop into a potentially fatal form of the disease, Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever.
Currently, there is no safe vaccine for Dengue.
However, for years, people in Southeast Asia have been using papaya leaf juice to treat dengue patients as a traditional natural remedy.
A few years ago, scientific research revealed that although the traditional remedy cannot cure the infection per se, papaya leaf extracts can definitely help improve the platelet counts for both normal dengue patients and hemorrhagic dengue patients.
Previously, there were some concerns that drinking papaya leaf juice could be damaging to the liver because it contains a substance called cyanogenic glucoside.
The Health Ministry clarified saying that papaya leaves do contain this substance but in very small doses. Which meant that a “60kg person would have to consume 12,000 papaya leaves at one time” for it to be dangerous.
Besides that, research has shown that this treatment is completely safe and has no adverse effects.
So, since it’s dengue season right now in Malaysia, we thought we’d make a handy guide to help you prepare this traditional remedy at home for you to give to your friends and loved ones who might have unfortunately contracted this horrible infection.
But, before anything, we’d like to remind everyone that papaya leaf juice IS NOT A DENGUE CURE. If you are diagnosed with Dengue fever you should immediately get treatment from the hospital.
Papaya leaf juice should only be used in addition to medical Dengue management. If you are allergic to papaya, you might want to stay away from this remedy completely.
Step 1: Find a fruit-bearing papaya tree.
Step 2: Pick the fresh healthy mature papaya leaves.
Step 3: Wash the leaves thoroughly with running tap water and then chop the leaves into small pieces.
Tip: you can include the main leaf stem if removing all the small stems is too time-consuming
Step 4: Weigh 50g of papaya leaves and put them into a mortar and pestle.
Step 5: Add ¼ cup of cooled boiled water and 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Step 6: Pound that (like your life depended on it) for 15 minutes or so until you have a uniform pulp.
Step 7: Mix the pulp well and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then, squeeze the pulp by hand and collect the juice.
Tip: bringing out your inner Asian and squeezing out the juice using your hand is recommended over using a cotton sieve to extract the juice
You’re done!
Store the preparation in a bottle. It can keep for 24 hours in your fridge. Shake the bottle well before consuming the papaya juice.
Take two tablespoons three times a day before meals for an adult and 1/2 a tablespoon three times a day for a child until you have fully recovered from the illness.
Papaya leaf juice can be given at any stage of the infection, though for best results it should be given from the first day of fever.
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