EFFECT OF CARICA PAPAYA L LEAF ON MENSTRUAL PAIN AND PROSTAGLANDIN LEVEL IN ADOLESCENT WITH PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA: A TRUE EXPERIMENT

Abstract

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea occurs because of the excessive amount of prostaglandins in the blood. Papaya leaf extract is considered to be able to reduce prostaglandin and menstrual pain. Objective: This study aims to prove that papaya leaf extract (Carica Papaya L.) can decrease the level of menstrual pain and prostaglandin levels in primary dysmenorrhea. Methods: A true experimental study with randomized pretest posttest control group design. There were 32 samples recruited using simple random sampling, with 16 each assigned to an experiment and control group. Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) was used to measure menstrual pain, and the level of prostaglandin was measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. Independent t-test and paired t-test were performed for data analysis. Results: There was statistically significant differencec of menstrual pain and prostaglandin level before and after intervention with p-value 0.000 (<0.005), which indiciated that papaya leaf extract had a significant effect on reducing menstrual pain. The decrease of menstrual pain in the experimental group was -3.375 and in the control group was -3.438; while the decrease of prostaglandin level in the experimental group was -56.971 and in the control group was -57.557. Conclusion: Provision of papaya leaf extract (Carica Papaya L.) significantly decreased the level of menstrual pain and prostaglandin levels in primary dysmenorrhea. Papaya leaf extract can be used as a safe and effective herbal medicine for primary dysmenorrhoea which has almost the same efficacy as mefenamic acid.

Keywords

• Carica Papaya L.
• primary dysmenorrhea
• menstrual pain
• prostaglandin level