Papaya seeds for chameleon gut health/parasite treatment?

[JacksJill]

Most old school "folksy" parasite treatments involve forcibly ejecting the parasites from the bowels by speeding up the digestive tract (very unpleasant). It would be nice to know what action the papaya seed uses before giving it to a chameleon. We can handle some diarrhea but they can't. It would be nice to know how the active ingredient works specifically. Sorry if that was mentioned and I missed it.

 

[jamest0o0]

Most old school "folksy" parasite treatments involve forcibly ejecting the parasites from the bowels by speeding up the digestive tract (very unpleasant). It would be nice to know what action the papaya seed uses before giving it to a chameleon. We can handle some diarrhea but they can't. It would be nice to know how the active ingredient works specifically. Sorry if that was mentioned and I missed it.

From what I read about them, it sounds like they actually kill the parasites along with other bacteria. It is suggested to be taken with a laxative(for people) in order to flush out the system afterwards. I was thinking a juicy hornworm could go well dusted with the powder. Nothing indicates the seeds themselves cause diarrhea.

 

[JacksJill]

I'd love to read the source material, unless you are like me and can never find it again. I'm currently hunting thru kinyonga's old threads for a link to an article on vitamin A&D ratios. Where is she when I need her?

 

[alphakenc]

Petco

Did I just read "Petco"....in 2019 oh lord have mercy.
Pardon my transgressions, help me love You again.

 

[JacksJill]

I'm sure if Jamest0o0 said Petco it was as a cuss word.

 

[jamest0o0]

I'd love to read the source material, unless you are like me and can never find it again. I'm currently hunting thru kinyonga's old threads for a link to an article on vitamin A&D ratios. Where is she when I need her?

I can find some stuff, but there's not a whole lot. This is the main study all of the other articles tend to reference.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/17472487/

I've eaten handfuls of papaya seeds for fun without any stomach discomfort lol. I can see how a chameleon may have a different tolerance for them though.

 

[jamest0o0]

I'm sure if Jamest0o0 said Petco it was as a cuss word.

 

[alphakenc]

 

[JacksJill]

I see you didn't lose your sense of humor with your password.

 

[alphakenc]

I write them down and put in my safe box and my back pockets now all the time jus in case....u just reminded me to change my password "petco" to something else...

 

[JacksJill]

Sorry to get al serious on you.
This article has some info about research on Developing novel anthelmintics from plant cysteine proteinases https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2559997/ its rather dry reading
Here is a sample "There have been considerable efforts to identify the active ingredients and indeed some are well known [30-32], but, to a large extent, few have lived up to their expectations when tested rigorously [33], and even fewer have been found to have curative properties that can compete effectively with synthetic drugs"

And another "Some of the earliest known medicinal anthelmintic plants include papaya (Carica papaya), figs (Ficus spp.) and pineapple (Ananas comosus). Anecdotal reports of their usage for the treatment of worm infections by the native inhabitants of Panama and South America stretch back to over a century ago [40]. Their extracts were shown to be highly effective in clearing the most obstinate of human intestinal worms, Trichuris trichiura, in the 1920s [41] and more effectively than any of the current synthetic drugs [42]. Indeed, European doctors used papain and papaya latex for the treatment of worms in the 19th century [[43,44] and see later in this review] but, it was not until the 1930s that they were shown to be actually capable of digesting nematodes [40] and their enzymic basis was discovered [45]. The active principles are now known to be cysteine proteinases (CP) that occur naturally in various parts of the plant, and Table Table11summarises some of those known to be contained within plants. For example, in pineapples, different combinations of enzymes occur in the stem, and in the fruit. The latex of both papaya and figs contains CPs.

 

[snitz427]

Mother in law just gave me half of one and instantly thought about feeding it to my feeders. Personal don’t like papaya smells and tastes like vomit

I was onboard for trying it until this... lol. Maybe I’ll still try it for feeeders but no barf fruit for me!

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

I try to have both organic papaya with it's seeds allong with organic pumpkin with it's seeds in my gutload (the dry gutload that I sell)! I have never had a bad fecal yet. I feel that research is the chameleon keepers best friend!!!!

 

[jamest0o0]

Sorry to get al serious on you.
This article has some info about research on Developing novel anthelmintics from plant cysteine proteinases https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2559997/ its rather dry reading
Here is a sample "There have been considerable efforts to identify the active ingredients and indeed some are well known [30-32], but, to a large extent, few have lived up to their expectations when tested rigorously [33], and even fewer have been found to have curative properties that can compete effectively with synthetic drugs"

And another "Some of the earliest known medicinal anthelmintic plants include papaya (Carica papaya), figs (Ficus spp.) and pineapple (Ananas comosus). Anecdotal reports of their usage for the treatment of worm infections by the native inhabitants of Panama and South America stretch back to over a century ago [40]. Their extracts were shown to be highly effective in clearing the most obstinate of human intestinal worms, Trichuris trichiura, in the 1920s [41] and more effectively than any of the current synthetic drugs [42]. Indeed, European doctors used papain and papaya latex for the treatment of worms in the 19th century [[43,44] and see later in this review] but, it was not until the 1930s that they were shown to be actually capable of digesting nematodes [40] and their enzymic basis was discovered [45]. The active principles are now known to be cysteine proteinases (CP) that occur naturally in various parts of the plant, and Table Table11summarises some of those known to be contained within plants. For example, in pineapples, different combinations of enzymes occur in the stem, and in the fruit. The latex of both papaya and figs contains CPs.

No need to apologize for getting "all serious" haha I like the conversation