Shutterstock
More specifically, we will deal with describing what it is, listing its main nutritional characteristics and describing its possible therapeutic actions.
designed to combat cellular aging; it is one of the so-called superfoods with an anti-aging action.It is a natural extract with essentially antioxidant properties, obtained from the pulverization of papaya (exotic or tropical fruit) subjected to long microbial fermentation; it would be this last process to optimize the antioxidant content.
Fermented papaya is a product known for many years in Japan but only more recently advertised by Luc Montagnier, a well-known French Nobel Prize winner and discoverer of the HIV virus and professor at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.
For further information: Superfood: What and What Are They? What are they for? anti-aging based on antioxidants, in the long term the fermented papaya should protect the cells of the organism from the oxidative stress of free radicals, at the same time favoring the repair of those already compromised.
This would result in both aesthetic and health effects, such as a beneficial impact on skin wrinkles, cellulite, protection of the vascular endothelium, prevention of carcinogenesis, etc.
However, as we shall see on the other hand, these are very difficult effects to prove.
For further information: Papaya: Nutritional Properties and How to Use it oxidative is a real "booster" favoring normal cellular decline linked to age (aging), it is certainly not the only element to consider and also responds unpredictably to the administration of many exogenous antioxidants.
The same goes for clinical practice. Redox balance and cellular aging process are at the center of numerous pathologies, including functional decline for certain organs. In this regard, the administration of fermented papaya, where it has no contraindications, would make sense to improve these parameters. If, on the other hand, we are looking for proof that this may be "therapeutic", the data available are not sufficient.
The most indicative study carried out in Italy - moreover already mentioned by other online sources - was carried out by the "Department of Cellular and Environmental Biology", in collaboration with the "Center of Excellence for Innovative and Nanostructured Materials" of the "University of Perugia; work was based on the comparison of the reducing and antioxidant power of fermented papaya (measurable on different dehydrated tissues) with respect to other 3 products: wheat sprouts, Morinda citrifolia and white tea. For the fermented papaya the result was negative and compared with the other 3 it proved to be the least effective.
On the other hand, it should be specified that other studies have shown a certain sensitivity of diabetic patients to the dietary supplement of fermented papaya, which (thanks to the content of antioxidant molecules) seems to limit skin compromises and the state of general inflammation, as well as to promote the reduction of blood sugar. The same applies to β-thalassemia patients who seem to benefit from the aforementioned antioxidant potential at the level of red blood cells.
However, it remains to be specified that the experiments mentioned above refer exclusively to studies on sick subjects who are often characterized by absolutely inappropriate lifestyles and dietary behaviors (Diabetes Mellitus type 2).
At the same time, other disorders such as β-thalassemia affect the body by increasing the need for antioxidants, in this case, the integration with fermented papaya (and probably also that of other similar antioxidant products) can favor the reduction of symptoms and complications.
However, to date there are no studies demonstrating the antioxidant and anti-aging efficacy referred to the integration of fermented papaya on a healthy and eunnourished research sample; it follows that fermented papaya does not represent an essential element for clinical practice and the fight against cell decline.
So: yes, fermented papaya is a product rich in antioxidants; no, we have no guarantee that taking it can actually affect the complications of cellular aging.
Nutritional values
The nutritional values of papaya and those of fermented papaya are different from each other, in particular, they are higher in the dehydrated supplement than in the fruit.
For 100g of edible portion, the papaya fruit provides:
Fermented papaya is however a more concentrated food supplement than the fruit from which it derives, therefore the nutritional values contained in the product are significantly higher. or sachets containing water soluble powder.
Being a supplement, the recommended dose for fermented papaya is more generic and approximate than that of a drug, in any case, it is common to find recommendations of a few grams per day (for example 3.0 g / day). Note: some experimental analyzes on sick patients have used doses of 3 g 2 or 3 times a day, but for a limited period.