Background: Various parts of Carica papaya (CP) Linn. have been traditionally used as ethnomedicine for a number of disorders including cancer. There have been anecdotes of patients with advanced cancers achieving remission following consumption of tea extract made from CP leaves. However, the precise cellular mechanism of action of CP tea extracts remains unclear.
Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study is to study the immunomodulatory activity of aqueous extract of CP in Wistar rats.
Materials and Methods: The effect of test extract and standard drug on the delayed type hypersensitivity response in Wistar rats using sheep red blood cells as antigen, administration of aqueous extract of CP at the dose of 400 and 800 mg/kg and levamisole 50 mg/kg, treatments which were given orally for 14 days.
Results: We observed that aqueous extract of CP showed a significant increase in paw edema compared to control group. The standard drug levamisole showed the maximum increase in paw volume compared to all groups.
Conclusion: The effect of this extract was comparable to the standard drug levamisole. CP leaf extract may potentially provide the means for the treatment and prevention of selected human diseases such as cancer, various allergic disorders, and may also serve as immunoadjuvant for vaccine therapy.
Key words: Carica Papaya, Immunomodulatory, Delayed Type Hypersensitivity
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