Papain: Benefits, Uses & Digestive Health – A Comprehensive Guide

Papain is a protease enzyme naturally found in the papaya fruit. Papain is harvested from the papaya fruit by cutting out the fruit's latex, drying it, then rendering into a powder. It is mainly used in cooking to tenderize meat and has been used in the native papaya regions for many years.

Uses

• Papain is used to treat gastrointestinal problems such as stomach ulcers and indigestion.

Function

• Papain cleans the stomach lining and dissolves mucus accumulation along the digestive tract and in the excretory system.

Considerations

• Papain doesn't lose its proteolytic activity at different pH levels, making it a durable enzyme for medicinal treatments such as in the highly acidic stomach environment.

Effects

• The enzymes also work to break down heavy proteins, making them easily digested and absorbed into the body.

Benefits

• Papain also works well against Celiac disease, shingles and herpes infections, and it shortens the healing time of some physical injuries and surgery.

Warning

• Papain should not be taken in conjunction with blood-thinning medications.