Herb & supplement monograph

Papaya Drug Interactions, Uses, Effectiveness, Safety & More

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS ·Updated July 2026

What is this page for?

First and foremost: how Papaya interacts with medications. The heart of this page is the interaction list — every drug Papaya is known to interact with, and how serious each one is.

But these pages have grown well beyond that into a full monograph — what Papaya is, what people use it for and how strong the evidence is, its safety and side effects, and answers to the questions we’re asked most — written and reviewed by the clinical staff at HelloPharmacist. It’s educational information from our licensed clinical databases, not medical advice, and we don’t sell or endorse products. Our editorial policy

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Papaya Drug Interactions: The Bottom Line

From the HelloPharmacist Editorial Team · Updated July 2026

Based on the available evidence, the overall risk of a clinically significant Papaya drug interaction appears low for most people. None of the listed interactions are rated major, and most rest on animal studies or single case reports rather than well-documented human evidence.

Interactions deserving the most attention

The best-supported concern involves diabetes medications: a small human study found that a fermented papaya product lowered blood sugar, so combining the two could add up and affect blood sugar control. Warfarin also deserves care, since one person stable on it developed a dangerously elevated blood-thinning level after taking a papain-containing papaya supplement, which could raise bleeding risk. There is also a report of very large daily amounts of papaya fruit reducing the effect of levothyroxine, and animal research suggests papaya extract may raise levels of the heart rhythm drug amiodarone.

What the rest of the list means

A long interaction list does not mean every combination is harmful. Most of these concerns are predicted from animal research or isolated reports, often involving concentrated extracts or unusually large amounts of fruit rather than normal eating, and have not been confirmed to cause meaningful problems in most people.

Check your medications against Papaya

Based on HelloPharmacist’s Papaya interaction data and reviewed under our editorial standards.

Interaction report

Drugs that interact with Papaya

92 medications have a known interaction with Papaya, graded by severity. Select any drug for the full evidence-based detail.

Don’t want to scroll the list? Just ask.

Tell us the medications you take and we’ll check each one against Papaya using our pharmacist-reviewed interaction data.

AI summaries are generated from our Papaya interaction data for education only — always confirm with your pharmacist. How we use AI

2,830 drugs

Read The List Like a Pharmacist

What Severity, Likelihood & Evidence Mean

Severity — How Serious It Can Be

Major. Clinically significant; generally best avoided, or used only under direct professional supervision.
Moderate. May need monitoring, a dose adjustment, or separating the times you take each one.
Minor. Generally not clinically significant, but still worth noting and mentioning to your pharmacist.
No known interaction. Checked against our sources with nothing documented — not the same as proven safety.

Likelihood — How Well It’s Documented

Likely. Well-controlled human studies have demonstrated the likely existence of this interaction
Probable. Interaction has not been documented in well-controlled studies, however, the interaction has been demonstrated in some small human studies or in controlled animal studies in conjunction with multiple case reports.
Possible. Interaction has been documented in animal or in lab research, or the interaction has been documented in humans but is limited to case reports or conflicting clinical research exists
Unlikely. Interaction has been demonstrated in animal or in lab research but has been shown not to occur in humans.

Where This Data Comes From

Interaction records are evidence-graded and sourced from the Natural Medicines database (TRC Healthcare), the same reference used by pharmacists and hospitals.
Each drug listed above links to the full report for that exact Papaya combination — clinical detail, likelihood, evidence level, and citations.
Content is reviewed by licensed HelloPharmacist pharmacists — see our data sources and editorial standards.

The big picture

The kinds of drugs Papaya affects

Every type of medication (drug category) Papaya is known to interact with. Open any category for the detail — or search your exact drug in the checker above.

All 4 drug categories Papaya interacts with

Amiodarone (cordarone)Antidiabetes DrugsLevothyroxine (synthroid, Others)Warfarin (coumadin)

Amiodarone (Cordarone)

Theoretically, papaya extract may increase the levels and clinical effects of amiodarone.
Animal research in rats shows that a single oral dose of papaya extract, as well as multiple doses of papaya extract daily over 14 days, prior to a single dose of amiodarone delays the time to maximum amiodarone concentration. However, only the 14-day papaya extract regimen increases systemic amiodarone exposure by 60% to 70%. This interaction has not been reported in humans.

Likelihood Probable Evidence D

Antidiabetes Drugs

Concomitant use of antidiabetic drugs with fermented papaya can produce additive effects. It is unclear if other forms of papaya have the same effect.
A small low-quality clinical study in patients with type 2 diabetes who are taking glibenclamide shows that taking a fermented papaya preparation 3 grams daily for 2 months decreases fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels when compared to baseline. Additionally, of the 25 patients in the study, 9 required a reduction in glibenclamide dose.

Likelihood Probable Evidence B

Levothyroxine (Synthroid, Others)

Theoretically, consuming large quantities of papaya fruit can reduce the clinical effects of levothyroxine.
In one case-report, a 37-year-old male with a history of thyroidectomy who was stabilized on levothyroxine for 5 years presented with hypothyroidism after consuming 5-6 papaya fruits daily for 14 days during vacation. In a controlled re-challenge test involving 5-6 papayas daily, the patient remained euthyroid for 7 days, but developed mild hypothyroidism after 14 days. Both times, thyroid levels normalized 40-45 days after discontinuing papaya.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Warfarin (Coumadin)

Theoretically, concomitant use of warfarin with papain-containing papaya extract might increase the effects and side effects of warfarin.
In one case report, a patient previously stable on warfarin was found to have an international normalization ratio (INR) of 7.4, which was attributed to ingestion of a supplement containing papain from papaya extract.

Likelihood Possible Evidence D

Monograph

Papaya: Uses, Safety & Side Effects

Medically reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS · Reviewed July 2026 ·

The bottom line

Papaya is a tropical fruit that is nutritious and generally safe to eat as food, and it contains an enzyme called papain used as a digestive aid and meat tenderizer. Papaya leaf extract is being studied for raising platelet counts in dengue fever, but most other supplement uses have limited human evidence. Talk to your pharmacist or doctor before using concentrated papaya supplements, and avoid unripe (green) papaya and papaya seed products in pregnancy.

Scientific name: Carica papaya
Family: Caricaceae
Part used: Fruit (ripe and unripe), leaves, seeds, and the latex (source of papain)
Common forms: Fresh fruit, juice, dried leaf, leaf extract or tea, capsules, tablets, fermented papaya preparations, and topical products

People commonly use it for

Digestive upset and indigestion
Constipation
Wound and skin care (topical)
Intestinal parasites (traditional)
Supporting platelet counts in dengue (investigational)

Popular and traditional uses — not proof it works. See “Uses & effectiveness” below for the evidence.

Safety at a glance

OverallUse caution

Ripe fruit is generally safe as food, but concentrated supplements and unripe papaya are less well studied.

PregnancyLikely Safe

When the ripe fruit is consumed in amounts commonly found in foods.

Read the full pregnancy detail

BreastfeedingLikely Safe

When the ripe fruit is consumed in amounts commonly found in foods. There is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of using pap...

Read the full breastfeeding detail

Pregnancy & breastfeeding ratings are from Natural Medicines (Therapeutic Research Center). Safety guidance is general; always confirm with your pharmacist or doctor for your situation.

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Overview

Papaya (Carica papaya) is a tropical plant that produces a large, soft, orange-fleshed fruit. It originally came from Central America and is now grown in warm, tropical, and subtropical regions around the world.

Different parts of the plant are used in different ways. The ripe fruit is eaten as food and is rich in vitamins A and C. The leaves are made into teas and extracts, the seeds are sometimes used in traditional remedies, and the milky latex from the unripe fruit is the source of an enzyme called papain. Papain is used commercially as a meat tenderizer and in some digestive products.

People use papaya as a fresh food, a juice, dried leaf or leaf extract, capsules, and topical skin preparations.

How it works

Papaya contains several compounds that may explain its proposed effects. Papain and a related enzyme called chymopapain break down proteins, which is why papaya is used as a meat tenderizer and a digestive aid.

The fruit is rich in vitamin C, vitamin A precursors (carotenoids), fiber, and plant antioxidants. The leaves contain other plant chemicals, such as flavonoids and alkaloids, that are being studied for effects on blood cells and inflammation.

It is important to know that many of these mechanisms come from laboratory or animal studies. Showing an effect in a test tube does not prove that papaya works the same way, or is helpful, in people.

Effectiveness

Does Papaya work?

Here’s what the research actually shows for each use — graded by Natural Medicines and reviewed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD.

Evidence overview · 12 uses evaluated

12 Insufficient evidence

How to read these evidence grades

Natural Medicines’ 7-point scale. We show each rating’s label word-for-word.

1EffectiveStrong, consistent evidence it works.

2Likely EffectiveGood evidence, though not yet conclusive.

3Possibly EffectiveSome evidence suggests a benefit.

4Possibly IneffectiveSome evidence it may not help.

5Likely IneffectiveFairly strong evidence it doesn’t help.

6IneffectiveStrong evidence it doesn’t work.

7Insufficient Reliable Evidence to RateToo little research to say either way.

For Papaya, current evidence isn’t strong enough to rate any specific use. The conditions it has been studied for are listed below.

Also studied for 12 conditions — evidence insufficient to rate

Insufficient Reliable Evidence To Rate Aging skin