Prostate cancer develops in the prostate, a small gland that surrounds part of a man's urethra. The disease usually occurs in older men and may grow slowly, causing only minor symptoms until later stages. Papain is a natural, protein-digesting enzyme in papayas that has a number of medicinal uses. It may be helpful in preventing or slowing the growth of prostate cancer. Discuss papain with your doctor to decide if it might be helpful for you.
Causes, Symptoms and Risk Factors
Although the exact cause of prostate cancer is still unknown, dietary fat or male hormones may have a role in changing normal prostate cells into cancerous cells. When these cells grow out of control, they can form a prostate tumor that may eventually spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms of prostate cancer include difficulty urinating or a slow flow of urine, a frequent need to urinate and pain or burning while urinating. In later stages, blood may appear in the urine or the disease may cause hip and back pain, weight loss or kidney failure. Factors that increase your risk for prostate cancer include being over 55, having a family history of the disease, eating a high-fat diet or leading a sedentary life style.
Papaya Enzyme
In addition to being a rich source of fiber, antioxidants and vitamins C and E, papaya fruit contains a proteolytic enzyme called papain that has a number of commercial and medicinal uses. It is a common ingredient in meat tenderizer that effectively softens fibrous tissues in meat prior to cooking. When taken as a supplement, papain may also help treat several types of cancer, according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Properties
Papain stimulates certain immune cells to produce chemicals called tumor-necrosis factor and interleukin that help your body attack and destroy malignant cells. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center summarizes research with papain and other similar enzymes indicating that they inhibit spread of malignant cells to distant tissues and organs in laboratory animals. One study published in "Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology" in 2001 showed that animals with melanoma fed papain and another enzyme lived longer and had less cancer spread than a placebo-fed group. The cancer center also discusses clinical trials with human cancer patients showing that consuming papain reduces side-effects caused by radiation and chemotherapy. These are encouraging results that still need to be extended with clinical trials of papain and subjects with prostate cancer.
Recommendations
Papain is generally considered a safe supplement, although it sometimes causes gastric upset and it may interact with certain medications such as blood thinners. Papain is available in tablets or capsules from health food stores, either as a single supplement or in combination with bromelain, another proteolytic enzyme extracted from pineapples. Talk to your doctor about papain before adding it to your regimen.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Prostate Cancer
- Herbs2000: Papain
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Proteolytic Enzymes
- "Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology"; Mixture of Trypsin, Chymotrypsin and Papain Reduces Formation of Metasteses and Extends Survival Time of C57B16 Mice with Syngeneic Melanoma B16; M. Wald, et al.; July 2001
- Food and Nutrition Research Institute: Discover the Goodness of Papaya
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