Pawpaw: two fruits under one name, and most of the evidence is papaya

Pawpaw is two fruits. In Britain, Australia and East Africa the word means papaya, and the largest trial under that name gave 326 Kenyan schoolchildren 10 fl oz (300 ml) of porridge a day containing 10 g of ground papaya seeds. After 2 months their roundworm egg counts had fallen by 63.9 percent against 78.8 percent with the drug albendazole, in a trial randomized across three schools with a micronutrient premix in the porridge as well. The seed porridge cleared fewer eggs than the drug, so the trial does not show it can replace deworming treatment, and that result is about the seeds. In North America pawpaw is Asimina triloba, and we found no human study of that fruit at all. Seven USDA samples of its raw flesh average 27.6 mg of vitamin C per 3.5 oz (100 g), anywhere from 14.6 to 35.6 mg, with 116 mcg of folate, 3.3 g of fiber and 221 mg of potassium.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Raw North American pawpaw (Asimina triloba) averages 27.6 mg vitamin C, 116 mcg folate, 3.3 g fiber and 221 mg potassium per 3.5 oz (100 g), with vitamin C ranging 14.6 to 35.6 mg across 7 samples. — 7 analyzed samples of peeled, seeded raw pawpaw fruit (US) (n = 7 samples) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: vitamin C 27.6 mg (14.6-35.6); folate 116.1 mcg (69.68-162.8); fiber 3.3 g (2.6-4.4); potassium 220.9 mg (179-304)
• Most of the sugar in pawpaw is sucrose, averaging 9.1 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) but ranging from 5.5 to 14.3 g across samples, with about 2.7 g glucose and 2.2 g fructose. — 7 analyzed samples of peeled, seeded raw pawpaw fruit (US) (n = 7 samples) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: sucrose 9.126 g (5.49-14.3); glucose 2.684 g (1.92-3.54); fructose 2.2 g (1.12-2.94); protein 1.15 g

What your body absorbs

• In a crossover RCT in 16 adults, beta-carotene from papaya (called pawpaw in Britain and Australia) was about 3 times more bioavailable than from carrots or tomatoes. — 16 healthy adults, randomized crossover, raw fruit test meals, 9.5 h sampling (n = 16) Evidence B source
  Beta-carotene about 3x; lycopene about 2.6x vs tomato

What cooking and storage change

• In a crossover RCT in 19 adults, papaya (pawpaw) had a low glycemic index whether eaten as bites (38) or puree (42), and older adults had a larger glucose response than young adults. — 19 healthy adults in Singapore (9 elderly, 10 young), randomized crossover (n = 19) Evidence B source
  GI papaya bites 38, papaya puree 42; elderly greater glycemic response (P = 0.019)

What it does to your health

• In a school-randomized trial in 326 Kenyan children, porridge with ground papaya (pawpaw) seeds cut roundworm egg counts by 63.9% over 2 months versus 78.8% with albendazole, and raised hemoglobin by 2 g/dL. — 326 primary school children, Nandi County, Kenya; 10 fl oz (300 ml) porridge daily (10 g seeds) for 2 months (n = 326) Evidence B source
  Ascaris egg count -63.9% (papaya) vs -78.8% (albendazole); hemoglobin +2 g/dL vs +1 g/dL
• Observational data in 118 Australian women link eating mango or pawpaw (papaya) to more skin yellowness from carotenoids. — 118 women aged 18-40, Hunter region, Australia (n = 118) Evidence C source
  Mango/pawpaw intake explained a significant share of skin yellowness variation (P < .05)

Safety, limits and interactions

• Laboratory data suggest pawpaw pulp contains annonacin, about 0.07 mg per g, a compound that killed half of rat brain cells in culture within 48 hours. — pawpaw fruit pulp extract; primary rat cortical neurons in vitro Evidence D source
  Annonacin 0.0701 +/- 0.0305 mg/g pulp; LC50 30.07 ug/ml purified annonacin, 47.96 ug/ml crude extract at 48 h
• Observational data from Guadeloupe found that patients with atypical parkinsonism had eaten more soursop, a relative of pawpaw, than controls. — 160 parkinsonian patients in Guadeloupe, cross-sectional (n = 160) Evidence C source
  Soursop consumption significantly greater in PSP-like and parkinsonism-dementia patients than in controls

The bottom line

The North American fruit gets its sweetness mainly from sucrose, 9.1 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) on average, though the 7 samples ranged from 5.5 to 14.3 g, likely with ripeness, which the dataset does not record. It adds about 2.7 g of glucose and 2.2 g of fructose. The papaya data come from real trials, all of them small. In a crossover trial in 16 adults eating single test meals, beta-carotene from raw papaya was about three times more available to the body than from carrots or tomatoes, and lycopene about 2.6 times more than from tomatoes. In 19 adults in Singapore, papaya had a low glycemic index eaten as bites (38) or as puree (42), and the 9 older participants had a larger blood sugar response than the 10 young ones. Among 118 Australian women, those who ate more mango or pawpaw had yellower skin from carotenoids, an association from a questionnaire that lumped the two fruits together. The caution is specific to Asimina. Laboratory work found annonacin in its pulp at about 0.07 mg per gram, and purified annonacin killed half of rat brain cells in a dish at 30 micrograms per ml within 48 hours. There are no human data on eating the fruit regularly. In Guadeloupe, patients with atypical parkinsonism had eaten more soursop, a related fruit that also contains annonacin, than controls had, which is an association in a different species. We found nothing on pregnancy, children or drug interactions for either fruit.

Sources

1. ppaw-daily-r3-01 · reference dataset
   FDC 2727577 Pawpaw, peeled, seeded, raw: Vitamin C 27.6 mg/100 g (14.6-35.6, n 7) · Folate, total 116.1 ug (69.68-162.8, n 7) · Fiber, total dietary 3.3 g (2.6-4.4, n 7) · Potassium 220.9 mg (179.0-304.0, n 7)
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30 (FDC 2727577) · checked 2026-09-30
2. ppaw-daily-r3-02 · reference dataset
   FDC 2727577 Pawpaw, peeled, seeded, raw: Sucrose 9.126 g/100 g (5.49-14.3, n 7) · Glucose 2.684 g (1.92-3.54, n 7) · Fructose 2.2 g (1.12-2.94, n 7) · Protein 1.151875 g (0.789375-1.541875)
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30 (FDC 2727577) · checked 2026-09-30
3. ppaw-daily-r3-05 · randomized crossover trial
   The bioavailability of β-carotene from papayas was approximately three times higher than that from carrots and tomatoes, whereas differences in the bioavailability of β-carotene from carrots and tomatoes were insignificant. ... Similarly, lycopene was approximately 2·6 times more bioavailable from papayas than from tomatoes.
   Br J Nutr, 2014 · checked 2026-09-30
4. ppaw-daily-r3-06 · randomized crossover trial
   All fruit forms and types studied were low glycemic index (GI) (guava bites: 29; papaya bites: 38; papaya puree: 42; guava puree: 47), albeit a significant difference in GI between the treatments was found (P = 0.003). Elderly exhibited significantly greater GR than young participants (P = 0.019).
   J Nutr Health Aging, 2017 · checked 2026-09-30
5. ppaw-daily-r3-07 · cluster randomized trial
   Papaya seed fortified porridge reduced the Ascaris lumbricoides egg count by 63.9% after the two month period (mean 209.7epg to 75.7 p < 0.002) as compared to the albendazole arm 78.8% (129.5 epg to 27.5, p value 0.006). ... Hemoglobin counts in the papaya group increased from a mean of 2 g/dL (11.5 g/dL to 13.5 g/dL, p < 0.001), as compared to the albendazole arm that increased by 1 g/dL (12.8-13.9, p < 0.001).
   BMC Complement Altern Med, 2018 · checked 2026-09-30
6. ppaw-daily-r3-08 · cross-sectional study
   Three specific fruits (apple/pear, mango/pawpaw and dried fruit) and five vegetables (beans/lentils, spinach, broccoli, corn, baked beans) also accounted for a significant proportion of the variation in skin yellowness (P < .05).
   Nutr Res, 2018 · checked 2026-09-30
7. ppaw-daily-r3-03 · in vitro neurotoxicity study
   The average concentration of annonacin in the fruit pulp was 0.0701±0.0305mg/g. Purified annonacin (30.07μg/ml) and crude EtOAc extract (47.96μg/ml) induced 50% death of cortical neurons 48h post treatment.
   Neurotoxicology, 2012 · checked 2026-09-30
8. ppaw-daily-r3-04 · cross-sectional study
   Consumption of soursop was significantly greater in both PSP-like and PDC patients than in controls and Parkinson's disease patients.
   Brain, 2007 · checked 2026-09-30