Freeze-dried Carica papaya leaf juice has immunomodulatory effects on inflammatory cytokines produced by dengue virus infection

A study published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine looked at the potential of freeze-dried papaya (Carica papaya) leaf juice as part of dengue treatment by examining its effects on inflammatory cytokines produced by dengue virus infection. The study was carried out by a team of researchers from Malaysia’s Ministry of Health.

• Papaya leaves have been used in traditional medicine for treating dengue fever.
• They are shown to exhibit an immunomodulatory activity by affecting the level of cytokine production in vitro and in vivo. However, adequate in vivo evidence in dengue disease model is still lacking.
• The Malaysian research team initiated to screen and identify the cytokines affected by freeze-dried papaya leaf juice in treating mice infected with dengue virus.
• Dengue is a rapidly emerging mosquito-borne viral disease that typically affects countries in tropical and subtropical regions around the world.
• The team fed mice with freeze-dried papaya leaf juice for three consecutive days 24 hours after dengue virus inoculation.
• Then, they screen plasma cytokines and analyzed the gene expression in the liver of mice.
• The results demonstrated that the treatment with freeze-dried papaya leaf juice regulated the release of certain cytokines during dengue infection in mice.
• Gene expression study identified eight inflammatory cytokine genes that were downregulated in the liver of infected mice treated with freeze-dried papaya leaf juice: CCL6/MRP-1, CCL8/MCP-2, CCL12/MCP-5, CCL17/TARC, IL1R1, IL1RN/IL1Ra, NAMPT/PBEF1, and PF4/CXCL4.

In conclusion, the findings demonstrated that freeze-dried papaya leaf juice has potential immunomodulatory role during dengue virus infection.

Visit NaturalMedicine.news to learn more about the potential natural treatments for dengue virus infection like papaya.

Journal Reference:

Norahmad NA et al. EFFECT OF FREEZE-DRIED CARICA PAPAYA LEAF JUICE ON INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES PRODUCTION DURING DENGUE VIRUS INFECTION IN AG129 MICE. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 11 February 2019. 19:44. DOI: 10.1186/s12906-019-2438-3