Pawpaw

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) aka: american pawpaw, custard banana, prairie banana, Indiana (Hoosier) banana, Kentucky banana, Michigan banana, and Ozark banana, is a brown to yellow skinned fruit with a bright yellow custard pulp studded in the center with many oval shaped seeds.

Health Benefits of Pawpaw


How to choose Pawpaw

Papaws are green when not ripe and turn to a yellow brown as they ripen. They will become very soft before they are ready to eat.

Climate and origin

Pawpaw originated from the Eastern United States. A hardy plant, it will grow as far north as New York, however, it is not widely cultivated across the world.

Taste

Pawpaws are sweet fruits with a custard texture and tropical flavor.

Substitutes with more vitamins

Mango

Miscellaneous information

Pawpaw is the largest edible fruit that is indigenous to the United States. A hearty tree, pawpaws will grow easily from their seeds, but take time to fruit.

Papayas are sometimes called "pawpaw", however, the two fruits are unrelated.

Similar tasting produce

Bananas, Mango

Natural vitamins, minerals, and nutrients found in Pawpaw + Complete Nutrition Facts

Vitamin A | Lycopene | Vitamin C | Dietary Fiber | Manganese | Copper |

Nutrition facts are currently unavailable



  1. Leach RM, Harris ED. Manganese. In: O'Dell BL, Sunde RA, eds. Handbook of nutritionally essential minerals. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc; 1997:335-355.
  2. Freeland-Graves J, Llanes C. Models to study manganese deficiency. In: Klimis-Tavantzis DL, ed. Manganese in health and disease. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Inc; 1994.
  3. Reginster JY, Strause LG, Saltman P, Franchimont P. Trace elements and postmenopausal osteoporosis: a preliminary study of decreased serum manganese. Med Sci Res. 1988;16:337-338.
  4. Odabasi E, Turan M, Aydin A, Akay C, Kutlu M. Magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium levels in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Can magnesium play a key role in osteoporosis? Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2008;37(7):564-567.
  5. Keen CL, Zidenberg-Cherr S. Manganese. In: Ziegler EE, Filer LJ, eds. Present Knowledge in Nutrition. 7th ed. Washington D.C.: ILSI Press; 1996:334-343.
  6. Carl GF, Gallagher BB. Manganese and epilepsy. In: Klimis-Tavantzis DL, ed. Manganese in health and disease. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Inc; 1994:133-157.
  7. Blaurock-Busch, E. Wichtige Nahrstoffe fur Gesunde Haut und Haare, Kosmetik Internat. 3/87.
  8. Collipp, P.J., et al. Manganese in infant formulas and learning disability. Ann. Nutr. Metab. 27(6):488-494, 1983.
  9. Office Of Dietary Supplements Fact Sheet: Vitamin A
  10. Semba RD. The role of vitamin A and related retinoids in immune function. Nutr Rev 1998;56:S38-48.
  11. Ross DA. Vitamin A and public health: Challenges for the next decade. Proc Nutr Soc 1998;57:159-65.
  12. Harbige LS. Nutrition and immunity with emphasis on infection and autoimmune disease. Nutr Health 1996;10:285-312.
  13. de Pee S, West CE. Dietary carotenoids and their role in combating vitamin A deficiency: A review of the literature. Eur J Clin Nutr 1996;50 Suppl 3:S38-53.
  14. Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 2001.
  15. Ross AC. Vitamin A and retinoids. In: Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 9th Edition (edited by Shils ME, Olson J, Shike M, Ross AC). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, New York, 1999, pp. 305-27.
  16. Ross AC, Stephensen CB. Vitamin A and retinoids in antiviral responses. FASEB J 1996;10:979-85.
  17. Fontham ETH. Protective dietary factors and lung cancer. Int J Epidemiol 1990;19:S32-S42.
  18. Albanes D, Heinonen OP, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Edwards BK, Rautalahti M, Hartman AM, Palmgren J, Freedman LS, Haapakoski J, Barrett MJ, Pietinen P, Malila N, Tala E, Lippo K, Salomaa ER, Tangrea JA, Teppo L, Askin FB, Taskinen E, Erozan Y, Greenwald P, Huttunen JK. Alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene supplement and lung cancer incidence in the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study: Effects of base-line characteristics and study compliance. J Natl Cancer Inst 1996;88:1560-70.
  19. Redlich CA, Blaner WS, Van Bennekum AM, Chung JS, Clever SL, Holm CT, Cullen MR. Effect of supplementation with beta-carotene and vitamin A on lung nutrient levels. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1998;7:211-14.
  20. Pryor WA, Stahl W, Rock CL. Beta carotene: from biochemistry to clinical trials. Nutr Rev 2000;58:39-53.
  21. Office of Dietary Suppliments Face Sheet: Vitamin C
  22. Gokce N, Keaney JF, Jr., Frei B, et al. Long-term ascorbic acid administration reverses endothelial vasomotor dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease. Circulation. 1999;99(25):3234-3240.
  23. Audera, C (2001). "Mega-dose vitamin C in treatment of the common cold: a randomised controlled trial". Medical Journal of Australia 389: 175.
  24. Hemilä, Harri; Chalker, Elizabeth; Douglas, Bob; Hemilä, Harri (2007). "Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold". Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) (3): CD000980
  25. Fleming DJ, Tucker KL, Jacques PF, Dallal GE, Wilson PW, Wood RJ (December 2002). "Dietary factors associated with the risk of high iron stores in the elderly Framingham Heart Study cohort". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76 (6): 1375?84.
  26. Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000.
  27. Weinstein M, Babyn P, Zlotkin S. An orange a day keeps the doctor away: scurvy in the year 2000. Pediatrics 2001;108:E55.
  28. Hoffman FA. Micronutrient requirements of cancer patients. Cancer. 1985;55 (1 Suppl):295-300.
  29. Deicher R, Hörl WH. Vitamin C in chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis patients. Kidney Blood Press Res 2003;26:100-6.
  30. Leach RM, Harris ED. Manganese. In: O'Dell BL, Sunde RA, eds. Handbook of nutritionally essential minerals. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc; 1997:335-355.
  31. Freeland-Graves J, Llanes C. Models to study manganese deficiency. In: Klimis-Tavantzis DL, ed. Manganese in health and disease. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Inc; 1994.
  32. Reginster JY, Strause LG, Saltman P, Franchimont P. Trace elements and postmenopausal osteoporosis: a preliminary study of decreased serum manganese. Med Sci Res. 1988;16:337-338.
  33. Odabasi E, Turan M, Aydin A, Akay C, Kutlu M. Magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium levels in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Can magnesium play a key role in osteoporosis? Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2008;37(7):564-567.
  34. Keen CL, Zidenberg-Cherr S. Manganese. In: Ziegler EE, Filer LJ, eds. Present Knowledge in Nutrition. 7th ed. Washington D.C.: ILSI Press; 1996:334-343.
  35. Carl GF, Gallagher BB. Manganese and epilepsy. In: Klimis-Tavantzis DL, ed. Manganese in health and disease. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Inc; 1994:133-157.
  36. Blaurock-Busch, E. Wichtige Nahrstoffe fur Gesunde Haut und Haare, Kosmetik Internat. 3/87.
  37. Collipp, P.J., et al. Manganese in infant formulas and learning disability. Ann. Nutr. Metab. 27(6):488-494, 1983.
  38. Office Of Dietary Supplements Fact Sheet: Vitamin A
  39. Semba RD. The role of vitamin A and related retinoids in immune function. Nutr Rev 1998;56:S38-48.
  40. Ross DA. Vitamin A and public health: Challenges for the next decade. Proc Nutr Soc 1998;57:159-65.
  41. Harbige LS. Nutrition and immunity with emphasis on infection and autoimmune disease. Nutr Health 1996;10:285-312.
  42. de Pee S, West CE. Dietary carotenoids and their role in combating vitamin A deficiency: A review of the literature. Eur J Clin Nutr 1996;50 Suppl 3:S38-53.
  43. Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 2001.
  44. Ross AC. Vitamin A and retinoids. In: Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 9th Edition (edited by Shils ME, Olson J, Shike M, Ross AC). Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, New York, 1999, pp. 305-27.
  45. Ross AC, Stephensen CB. Vitamin A and retinoids in antiviral responses. FASEB J 1996;10:979-85.
  46. Fontham ETH. Protective dietary factors and lung cancer. Int J Epidemiol 1990;19:S32-S42.
  47. Albanes D, Heinonen OP, Taylor PR, Virtamo J, Edwards BK, Rautalahti M, Hartman AM, Palmgren J, Freedman LS, Haapakoski J, Barrett MJ, Pietinen P, Malila N, Tala E, Lippo K, Salomaa ER, Tangrea JA, Teppo L, Askin FB, Taskinen E, Erozan Y, Greenwald P, Huttunen JK. Alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene supplement and lung cancer incidence in the alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene cancer prevention study: Effects of base-line characteristics and study compliance. J Natl Cancer Inst 1996;88:1560-70.
  48. Redlich CA, Blaner WS, Van Bennekum AM, Chung JS, Clever SL, Holm CT, Cullen MR. Effect of supplementation with beta-carotene and vitamin A on lung nutrient levels. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1998;7:211-14.
  49. Pryor WA, Stahl W, Rock CL. Beta carotene: from biochemistry to clinical trials. Nutr Rev 2000;58:39-53.
  50. Office of Dietary Suppliments Face Sheet: Vitamin C
  51. Gokce N, Keaney JF, Jr., Frei B, et al. Long-term ascorbic acid administration reverses endothelial vasomotor dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease. Circulation. 1999;99(25):3234-3240.
  52. Audera, C (2001). "Mega-dose vitamin C in treatment of the common cold: a randomised controlled trial". Medical Journal of Australia 389: 175.
  53. Hemilä, Harri; Chalker, Elizabeth; Douglas, Bob; Hemilä, Harri (2007). "Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold". Cochrane database of systematic reviews (Online) (3): CD000980
  54. Fleming DJ, Tucker KL, Jacques PF, Dallal GE, Wilson PW, Wood RJ (December 2002). "Dietary factors associated with the risk of high iron stores in the elderly Framingham Heart Study cohort". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 76 (6): 1375?84.
  55. Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Carotenoids. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000.
  56. Weinstein M, Babyn P, Zlotkin S. An orange a day keeps the doctor away: scurvy in the year 2000. Pediatrics 2001;108:E55.
  57. Hoffman FA. Micronutrient requirements of cancer patients. Cancer. 1985;55 (1 Suppl):295-300.
  58. Deicher R, Hörl WH. Vitamin C in chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis patients. Kidney Blood Press Res 2003;26:100-6.