Potential of Carica papaya leaf extract as an future medicine for thrombocytopenia in dengue patients: from traditional to scientific drug discovery

Dengue, widespread mosquito-borne disease, is endangering through thrombocytopenia which is a warning sign. Currently, therapy for thrombocytopenia is platelet transfusion. However, platelet transfusions are still controversial because of their side effects. Carica papaya Leaf Extract (CPLE) has become popular as a herbal medicine which is claimed to accelerate the increase in platelet levels in dengue fever patients. This article aims to review the potential of CPLE as an alternative therapy in order to accelerate clinical improvement in dengue patients, especially in patients with thrombocytopenia. Systematic review was conducted based on PRISMA guidelines using Google Scholar, Science Direct, Hindawi, PubMed, Cochrane, Taylor & Francis, Proquest, and Semantic Scholar databases in the last 10 years. The inclusion criteria follows the PICOS framework and the assessment of the quality of the literature is based on the Risk of Bias 2.0 Tools. A total of 10 valid and reliable articles demonstrated the effectiveness of CPLE increasing platelet levels in dengue fever patients. The duration of hospitalization and the need for platelet transfusions were also significantly lower in patients treated with CPLE than in controls. The use of CPLE has potential as adjuvant therapy in dengue fever patients with thrombocytopenia without causing major side effects.

Graphical abstract