Papain is the proper chemical name for what's colloquially called papaya enzyme, which is one of the enzymes produced by the papaya fruit. There are many common rumors regarding the ability of papaya enzyme or papain to cure diseases and alleviate symptoms, though most of these--including the idea that you can treat skin disorders with papain--are without foundation.
Papaya
Most of papaya's supposed benefits are attributed to papain, which is one of many different enzymes that have the ability to break down protein into its smaller building block molecules, which are called amino acids, explain Mary Campbell, Ph.D., and Shawn Farrell, Ph.D., in their book, "Biochemistry." This is useful in more than one way. The papaya fruit uses papain to break down unneeded proteins so that their amino acids can be reused to make new proteins. Humans can use papain to tenderize meat; it breaks down the tough proteins in and around the muscle fibers.
Skin Disorders
There are many, many types of skin disorders, and the causes and treatments vary as widely as the disorders themselves. As such, the idea that a single agent--natural or invented by man--would be able to treat all or most of them is simply not realistic. Even so, there is no single skin disorder for which papaya has been identified as a reasonable treatment, with scientific evidence to back up that assertion.
Considerations
One of the major problems in trying to use papaya to treat a skin disorder is that enzymes are very reaction-specific; protein-digesting enzymes like papain can't do anything except digest protein, according to Reginald Garrett, Ph.D., and Charles Grisham, Ph.D., in the text "Biochemistry." You can't treat any single skin disorder by breaking down protein as a sole method of treatment; all skin disorders have causes much more complex than simple overproduction of protein.
Treatments
If you have a skin disorder of one sort or another--whether you've identified the cause or not--and need effective treatment, you should talk to a health care professional. While there are some minor skin disorders, like mild acne, that you can treat with over-the-counter medications, others may require much stronger and more focused approaches. A physician--and more specifically, a dermatologist, can help you target the cause of your skin issues.
References
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett, Ph.D. and Charles Grisham, Ph.D.; 2007
- "Biochemistry"; Mary Campbell, Ph.D. and Shawn Farrell, Ph.D.; 2005
