This dose cannot cause any untoward symptoms and is efficient in expelling both lumbricoids and tæniæ.
The triturated seeds may be given internally in doses of 1–2 grams with milk or molasses to expel lumbricoids. Analysis has revealed in the seeds the presence of a resinous oil, an oleaginous material of disagreeable odor and taste called by Peckolt caricin, a fatty acid, papayic acid and a resin. In India the seeds are considered emmenagogue. In some countries they wrap meat in papaya leaves for several hours before eating in order to soften it. For the same purpose they sometimes boil the meat in water containing a few leaves or pieces of the green fruit; some even go to the length of saying that it is only necessary to hang a piece of meat in a papaya tree for a time in order to soften it.
The decoction of the green fruit is given internally for indigestion, a treatment common in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga. The milky juice is used to remove corns and Dr. Daruty offers the following prescription for eczema and psoriasis:
| Exudate of papaya | 1.00 grams. |
| Borax (powdered) | 0.60 grams. |
| Water | 16.00 grams. |
Mix.
Paint the affected part with feather or brush, 2–3 times a day. The same solution may be used for softening corns.
Botanical Description.—Trees 15° in height, trunk covered with large leaf scars, wood soft and brittle, the long-petioled, palmately-lobed leaves growing in a crown and giving the tree the general appearance of a palm. Flowers diœcious. Staminate tree: Flowers loosely clustered on long, hanging stems. Calyx, 5–6 teeth. Corolla tubular, 1′ long, limb divided into 5 oval parts. Stamens 10, inserted in the throat. Style short, awl-shaped. Pistillate tree: Flowers much larger, sessile, in axils of leaves. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla large, 5 lanceolate petals curved outward, fleshy. Stigmas 5, fringed. Fruit about size of child’s head or smaller, somewhat pear-shaped, juicy, pulp melon-like, 1 compartment with numerous seeds, each in a mucilaginous aril.
Cucurbitaceæ.
Gourd Family.
Trichosanthes palmata, Roxb. (T. tricuspis, Mig.; T. lucioniana, Bares.)