Papaw

A patient who has ingested spoiled food or a suspected poison and needs prompt emesis, historically addressed with a small dose of bark decoction

A scalp infestation with lice where crushed seed or leaf material was rubbed into the hair as a folk pediculicide

Overview. Asimina triloba, the American pawpaw, is the only temperate-zone member of the largely tropical custard-apple family and grows as a small understorey tree across the eastern and midwestern United States. Its large, custard-like fruit has long been eaten fresh, while the bark, seeds, and leaves found a more limited place in nineteenth-century American folk and eclectic practice as a harsh emetic and as an external remedy against lice and other skin parasites. The fruit is a food, not a therapeutic dose form, and should not be confused with the acrid, more toxic bark and seed preparations described in older texts.

Clinical Notes. Historical American practice used the bark, seeds, and leaves sparingly, mainly as an emetic to empty the stomach after ingestion of spoiled food, and topically, crushed and applied to the scalp or skin, against lice and other parasites.

Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage. Without entering into a description of the varied experiments that have been made with the milk of carica, and concerning which an excellent account is given by Dr. Moncorvo, of Rio de Janeiro, in his translation of an article in the Portuguese language, entitled: "Note on the Physiological and Therapeutical Action of Carica Papaya," by Dr.

History. The Carica constitute a family of phanerogamous plants, which grow in the East Indies and in South America, either in a natural state or cultivated. The following species have properties similar to those of C.