Carica papaya is a plant from the order Brassicales which produces fruit called papaya.
Only 1 allergen has been identified in papaya fruit and that is Cari p 1.
Cari p 1 is a polygalacturonase (PG) and is responsible in part for ripening of fruit. In food allergy PGs are responsible for oral allergy type symptoms as the patient first becomes sensitised to the pollen of this plant and then to the fruit.
I have put together some more comprehensive resources at http://www.allergyresources.co.uk/Papaya.php
The allergy resources page for papaya covers the key allergens, which allergic syndromes are linked to this allergy and other foods which are commonly cross reactive with papaya.
There is also regularly updated links to useful websites specifically for papaya allergies and the latest research papers on the topic.
If you have multiple allergies and are interested in how they are linked or want to find out more about food allergies outside the usual top 14 then you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter, where I share a food allergy card every day of the week.
