PAWPAW is a familiar plant because it grows in homes. Children play from time-to-time with its leaves. When I was a child, we use to try its leaves on white clothes to make them wither.

In the workshop of nature, in an African set-up, pawpaw is a plant that one cannot just pass-by. It is one of the gifts of nature in the plant kingdom that continues to offer us so much. It is now blooming in different shapes and sizes. There are the African species and also some foreign species all growing here. They are so juicy when fully ripe and not too tender!

This wonderful, sometimes very tall plant, radiant and majestic, with its leaves spreading and praising the Lord at all times, also have some myths woven around some of its species in traditional African culture. It has both male and female species.

As food, its fruit is delicious when ripe. As medicine, its therapeutic uses are too many to give in one report.

In dark ages, ripe papaya (pawpaw) fruit was used as a cure for diarrhea, dyspepsia, dysentery and flatulence. Raw papaya was also used as a vegetable in diarrhoea and dysentery.

Further, Dr. Kriggs, M.D. author of "Green Medicine", wrote about papaya as follows:

"The ripe papaya is stomachic, appetiser and digestive, it is given in piles and enlargement of liver and spleen; the ripe fruit is eaten regularly for habitual constipation and chronic diarrhoea. The juice being an irritant is applied to swellings to prevent suppuration and to corns, warts, pimples, honny excretions of the skin and other skin diseases. The juice as a cosmetic, removes freckles and makes the skin smooth and delicate. A paste of the seeds is applied to skin diseases like ringworm".

As a breakfast dish

Slice a whole average ripe pawpaw, peeling and removing its seeds, leave only 5 seeds which should be chewed before food. Add yogurt or honey to this. It is a delightful and light breakfast!

Fruit salad can also be made with pawpaw being the main fruit also as a breakfast dish.

For Biliousness
Take ripe papaya fruit as a remedy.

For all sorts of gastric troubles
Ripe papaya fruit is an efficacious remedy.

For Amoebic dysentery
Ripe papaya as fruit juice is excellent.

To keep the digestive system normal and in order
a combination of pawpaw and tomato juice is excellent.

For Barber’s rash
the milky juice exuding from the wounds of the unripe papaya fruit applied locally, removes and cures the rash.

For worms
the seed of papaya juiced and taken on empty stomach with a spoonful of castor oil taken with hot water helps expel worms.

For worms
eat a whole leaf of pawpaw first thing in the morning before breakfast.

For yellow fever
cut a whole unripe pawpaw with the skin and seeds and soak in water for 24 hours.

Caution:It ferments; strain the liquid and drink for some days to clear the yellowfever illness from the sclera. The dried leaves (fallen), may be added to this recipe.

The dried leaves (fallen by itself), is of significant use in traditional medicine here in Nigeria. For most malaria remedies, these leaves are added to the concoction.

For strings
apply the fresh milky juice from an unripe pawpaw. Relief is instant.

For liver problems
eat lots of pawpaw regularly.