Does Oral Supplementation of a Fermented Papaya Preparation Correct Respiratory Burst Function of Innate Immune Cells in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients?

Abstract

Fermented papaya preparation (FPP) is a nutritional supplement reported to act as an antioxidant by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) and removing "bad ROS," while inducing "respiratory burst" production of necessary "good ROS." We sought to investigate the safety of oral administration of FPP (9 g/day, 6 weeks) to T2D patients with regard to its effect on the hyperglycemia status of these patients. Peripheral blood was collected during a baseline visit, followed by subsequent collections both during and after supplementation. Induced "respiratory burst" ROS production was measured at each visit in addition to fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and lipid/protein peroxidation. Oral FPP supplementation induced "respiratory burst" in peripheral blood mononuclear cells while not influencing other blood parameters studied. When human monocytic THP-1 cells were supplemented with sugar-based FPP, cellular ATP and NADPH concentrations were increased while matched glucose alone did not produce similar effects, suggesting a glucose-independent component of FPP to be responsible for increasing cellular energetics. THP-1 cells supplemented with FPP also exhibited higher mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) and oxygen consumption as compared with cells treated with glucose alone. Taken together, our observations lead to the hypothesis that FPP corrects inducible "respiratory burst" function in type 2 diabetes patients.

Beneficial Effects of Fermented Papaya Preparation (FPP®) Supplementation on Redox Balance and Aging in a Mouse Model

“…Our results showed that the daily intake of FPP ® significantly increased the levels of antioxidants in the blood (Total Antioxidant Power, GSH and SOD-1) and decreased the levels of total ROS, together with a clear anti-aging effect as shown by the length of telomeres and telomerase quantification in FPP ® treated mice. These results are consistent with previous studies where the crucial role of FPP ® in reducing oxidative stress and inducing the antioxidant defense response have been extensively investigated [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]37,38,61]. Previous reports have shown that FPP ® is able to modulate characteristic phenomena of elderly people, such as the pro-inflammatory profile [31] and the oxidative damage [44,45].…”

“…Fermented Papaya Preparation (FPP ® , Immun'Âge ® ) is one of the fermented foods that have proven positive effects on brain health; FPP ® is a product resulting from yeast fermentation of non-genetically modified Carica Papaya Linn, which is marketed as a natural dietary functional health supplement under the brand name of Immun'Âge ® [20,21]. FPP ® is a powerful antioxidant and nutraceutical adjuvant in combined therapies against various diseases [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29], including cancer [22,25,30]. The FPP ® more documented actions are as a free radical regulator [31], as immunomodulator [32][33][34][35][36] and as antioxidant [37,38].…”

Oral Administration of Fermented Papaya (FPP®) Controls the Growth of a Murine Melanoma through the In Vivo Induction of a Natural Antioxidant Response

“…The presence of antioxidants (such as lycopene, beta carotene, polyphenols, anthocyanins) seems to be one of the key factors in the prevention effect of the diet [28,29,30,31]. Among the natural antioxidants with immunostimulating and immunomodulating activities, the beneficial effect of Fermented Papaya (FPP ® ) (Immun’Âge ® ) is known [34,35,36,37].…”

“…Papaya is the fruit of the Carica papaya Linn, native to Central America (southern Mexico) and South America and nowadays grown in most tropical countries. Traditionally used as a medicinal fruit, Carica papaya Linn is rich in polyphenols and has antioxidant [38,39], immunostimulants [37,40] anti-inflammatory [41] properties and also beneficial effects in wound healing [42,43,44].…”

Effects of Standardised Fermented Papaya Gel on Clinical Symptoms, Inflammatory Cytokines, and Nitric Oxide Metabolites in Patients with Chronic Periodontitis: An Open Randomised Clinical Study

“…Standardised fermented papaya preparations have shown remarkable free radical scavenging, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, phagocyte-stimulating, and wound healing activities in the in vitro and in vivo experiments [ 29 , 30 ], as well as in clinical trials [ 31 ]. Of particular interest, oral supplementation with fermented papaya preparations significantly corrected metabolic and oxidative stress markers in patients with type 2 diabetes [ 32 , 33 ]. In the present clinical laboratory study, a standardised fermented papaya gel (SFPG, Carica Co., Manila, The Philippines) was used for topical applications to patients with moderate-to-severe periodontitis.…”