Green Papaya Powder (Unripe) – Organic

Organic Green Papaya Powder is made from unripe papayas that are carefully dried and ground into a fine powder. With its mild, slightly earthy flavor, it blends smoothly into smoothies, soups, teas, and sauces, making it a versatile ingredient for both sweet and savory recipes.

Convenient and shelf-stable, this powder offers an easy way to enjoy the unique taste of green papaya year-round. Its light flavor and smooth texture make it a flexible pantry staple for everyday cooking and creative recipes.

Essentially, green papaya is the unripened version of papaya.

Understanding the different stages of the ripening process is crucial because it is typically believed that a perfectly ripened papaya contains the most condensed levels of a wide range of nourishing compounds and enzymes that may support digestion and a healthy inflammation response. However, with papaya, this is not the case. There are four primary stages of papaya maturity, all based on the fruit’s exterior color and firmness:

• Stage 0: Entirely green
• Stage 1: Yellow that covers up to 15% of the skin surface
• Stage 2: Yellow that covers up to 25% of the skin’s surface
• Stage 3: Yellow that covers 50% of the skin’s surface

As a climacteric fruit, the fast ripening of papaya is triggered by ethylene biosynthesis. Ethylene is a gaseous plant hormone that plays a crucial role in the fruit ripening process. As the fruit matures, ethylene is produced as a signal to induce fruit ripening. An excellent example of this process is when you put a banana or avocado in a paper bag to quicken the ripening process. Green papaya has a crisp white flesh with minimal flavor but a spectacular crunch. Many culinary experts characterize it as having a “clean” taste, like a cucumber or jicama, and the seeds have a slightly peppery flavor.

Green papaya is well known to contain nourishing amounts of powerful enzymes that are typically extracted from a milky substance called papaya latex. It has been discovered that there are five enzymes in papaya latex;

• Papain: A protein-digesting enzyme (Protease)
• Chymopapain: A proteolytic enzyme clinically used in the treatment of bulging discs
• Caricain: An enzyme specific to breaking down gluten.
• Glycyl Endopeptidase: A cysteine endopeptidase in the papain family. The purpose of cysteine is to change the catalytic(increase the speed of a reaction) property of an enzyme.
• Glutamine Cyclotransferase: A conversion enzyme

While present in ripened papaya, these enzymes are more concentrated in unripened green papaya. Each enzyme varies in structure and potency, which may lead to potential benefits (like tissue protection and breaking down protein); four of the five enzymes are called proteolytic enzymes or proteases. The most well-known protease enzyme in papaya is papain. A protease’s primary job is to break down proteins that are either dead or damaged and remove these damaged protein bonds. When consumed with food, they break down protein from your food into amino acids, allowing for proper integration into the bloodstream for a wide range of uses. Proteases can be absorbed into the bloodstream without food, clearing out damaged or dead protein.

In a review discussing preliminary in vitro research, papaya latex has been shown to support the body’s ability to extract specific forms of parasites. It was stated that the latex and purified papain demonstrated potential activity against S. venezuelensis eggs and larvae. Another study concluded that papain and chymopapain found in papaya latex demonstrated anthelmintic (antiparasitic) potential.

A paper titled Papain, a Plant Enzyme of Biological Importance: A Review discusses significant findings about papain’s mechanisms of action, potential medicinal uses, and potential for drug design and preparation.

Green Papaya and Green Banana: Greens for Your Gut

When we think of green foods, we typically think about foods that provide chlorophyllin, which usually comes from green leafy vegetables and foods like alfalfa and wheat grass. While these foods provide a magnificent amount and wide variety of phyto-nourishment, none have as profound an effect on gut health as green banana and green papaya.

You may be surprised to learn that many unripened fruits provide a unique profile of compounds you may not find in the ripened version. Bananas are an excellent example of all their fantastic qualities, specifically in the unripened stage.

It has always been believed that a perfectly ripe banana is the stage of peek nourishment, but what we have recently learned very well may debunk this theory. As a banana goes through the ripening process, each stage gains and loses specific nutritional components. This teaches us that to obtain the best qualities from bananas for culinary and nutritional purposes, they should be utilized in the most appropriate stage for your goal. The unripe green banana contains 80% starch. As a banana ripens, the starch is converted into sugar (sucrose, fructose, glucose), leaving the ripened banana with a starch content of less than 1%. The general ripening stages are as follows.

You often see the term resistant starch connected to these foods. Discussing the meaning of this term is vital to understanding their relationship.

Resistant Starch

Most of the starch we eat is quickly digested in the small intestines, and only a fraction survives moving along to the large intestines.

A resistant starch is a dietary starch that does not break down into sugar and resists digestion in the small intestines. They pass through most of the digestive system unchanged, ending up in the colon, fermenting, and feeding the microbiota. Resistant starches are formed when starch-containing foods are cooked and cooled. This occurs due to a process known as retrogradation, which happens when amylose and amylopectin chains in cooked gelatinized starch realign themselves as they cool down. Cooling these foods in the refrigerator overnight or for several days has been said to increase starch-resistant content.

While not explicitly confirmed, it is generally accepted that reheating resistant starches under 140 degrees F is believed not to destroy their prebiotic qualities.

It is also generally agreed upon that three types of resistant starches exist:

• Resistant Starch Type 1: Seeds, legumes, and grains fall into this category. Your small intestines have trouble digesting the starches within them.
• Resistant Starch Type 2: These are non-gelatinized particles that the small intestines can slowly digest, but not before much of it escapes into the large intestines. This category includes green bananas, green papaya, raw potatoes, and high-amylose corn.

• Resistant Starch Type 3: This type is cooked in water until fully hydrated, and the starch moves to the water and reform into structures that are difficult to digest after they have been cooled down. This category includes bread, cooked potatoes, and processed foods.

A review titled Resistant Starches for the Management of Metabolic Diseases looked at preliminary animal studies and human clinical trials, discussing the effects of resistant starches on metabolic conditions.

The following was summarized: Data from both models support the role of resistant starches in improving various metabolic issues, although more research is needed regarding specific effects.

Therefore, it was concluded that “the studies presented in this review offer new insights into the potential pathways by which resistant starches enhance metabolic health, including modulation of the gut microbiota, gut peptides, circulating inflammatory mediators, innate immune cells, and the bile acid cycle.”

What is green papaya powder suitable for?

While little clinical evidence discusses the link between consuming green, unripened papaya and its specific benefits, preliminary research is slowly building. To be transparent, various compounds like protease enzymes (discussed above) have significant clinical evidence of possibly supporting healthy digestion and a healthy inflammation response, along with a slew of other potential benefits; almost all of those studies are on the isolated compounds present in green papaya and not looking at how they work in conjunction with all the other nourishing compounds found in green papaya.

For example, in a study discussing the effects of protease enzyme supplements on skeletal function after downhill running, the following statement was made specific to their impact. “The experimental group demonstrated superior recovery of contractile function and diminished effects of delayed-onset muscle soreness after downhill running when compared with the placebo group.” It was concluded that protease supplements might support muscle soreness and facilitate muscle healing.

A controlled study comparing the effect of an enzyme combination and acyclovir on pain and skin lesions stated that the enzyme preparation showed equal efficacy regarding specific symptom relief.

Summary of Important Information

Z Natural Foods hand-picks specific ingredients for our customers based on three concepts to provide the best quality product possible to support optimal well-being.

• Versatility
• History of safe and effective usage
• Strong evidence of positive research outcomes in humans

• There are four primary stages of papaya maturity, all based on the fruit’s exterior color and firmness. Stage 0: Entirely green; Stage 1: Yellow that covers up to 15% of the skin surface, Stage 2: Yellow that covers up to 25% of the skin’s surface, Stage 3: Yellow that covers 50% of the skin’s surface
• Green papaya is well known to contain nourishing amounts of powerful enzymes that are typically extracted from a milky substance called papaya latex. It has been discovered that there are five enzymes in papaya latex:
• 1) Papain, A protein-digesting enzyme (Protease); 2) Chymopapain, A proteolytic enzyme clinically used in the treatment of bulging discs; 3) Caricain: An enzyme specific to breaking down gluten. 4) Glycyl Endopeptidase: A cysteine endopeptidase in the papain family. The purpose of cysteine is to change the catalytic (increase the speed of a reaction) property of an enzyme. 5)Glutamine Cyclotransferase: A conversion enzyme
• Each enzyme varies in structure and potency, which may lead to potential benefits (like tissue protection and breaking down protein); four of the five enzymes are called proteolytic enzymes or proteases. The most well-known protease enzyme in papaya is papain. A protease’s primary job is to break down proteins that are either dead or damaged and remove these damaged protein bonds. When consumed with food, they break down protein from your food into amino acids, allowing for proper integration into the bloodstream for a wide range of uses. Proteases can be absorbed into the bloodstream without food, clearing out damaged or dead protein.
• A resistant starch is a dietary starch that does not break down into sugar and resists digestion in the small intestines. Three types of resistant starches exist.
• Resistant Starch Type 1: Seeds, legumes, and grains fall into this category. Your small intestines have trouble digesting the starches within them. Resistant Starch Type 2: These are non-gelatinized particles that the small intestines can slowly digest, but not before much of it escapes into the large intestines. This category includes green bananas, green papaya, raw potatoes, and high-amylose corn. Resistant Starch Type 3: This type is cooked in water until fully hydrated, and the starch moves to the water and reform into structures that are difficult to digest after they have been cooled down.

Miscellaneous Facts about our Organic Green Papaya Powder (Unripe)

Suggested Use: Mix one tablespoon with juice or add to your favorite smoothie.

Mixing suggestions: To increase flavor and nutritional profile, combine with our banana powder in a smoothie. It should be mixed with any sweet or tart powder like Organic Freeze Dried Super 8 Berry Blend, Organic Essential Reds, Organic Freeze Dried Strawberry Powder, or Organic Banana Powder.

Botanical Name: Carica Papaya.

Other Names: Banane de Prairie, Kates, Caricae Papayae Folium, Carica papaya, Carica peltata, Carica posoposa, Chirbhita, Erandachirbhita, Erand Karkati, Green Papaya, Mamaerie, Melonenbaumblaetter, Melon Tree, Papaw, Papaya Fruit, Papayas, Papaye, Papaye Verte, Papayer, Papita, Paw Paw, Mamaeiro, Pawpaw.

Parts Used: Whole Green Papaya.

Ingredients: Raw Unripe Green Papaya.

Origin: Grown and dried in India and packaged with care in Florida, USA.