Papain is a powerful digestive enzyme commonly found and extracted not only from the papaya fruit (Carica papaya) latex but also from papaya leaves and stems. It is also referred to as papaya proteinase. The papaya enzyme papain plays a key role in digestive processes involving breaking down tough protein fibers. For this reason, it has been commonly used in its native South America for digestive support when eating meat and even to tenderize meat before cooking. (more…)
Lipase is an enzyme that’s produced by the pancreas. It helps digest fats to unlock the fat-soluble nutrients, like vitamins A, D, E, and K, that they contain. Since many people consume less-than-optimal amounts of fat-soluble nutrients, it is essential to digest and absorb the ones we do consume as efficiently as possible. In addition, the common effects of indigestion, which include bloating, abdominal discomfort and gas, can result from inefficiently digesting fat as a result of inadequate amounts of lipase in the body. Here we’ll describe those and other […]
Glucose oxidase, also called notatin, is one of the many useful enzymes that nature has given us, and is produced by fungi, bacteria, and insects. Commonly found in bee pollen and honey, glucose oxidase plays a key role in digestive processes, overall human health, physical rejuvenation, and anti-aging. (more…)
Lactase is an enzyme that hydrolyzes milk sugar (lactose) into its component parts, glucose and galactose, and assists in the digestion of dairy products such as, ice cream, milk and cheese. Nutritionists estimate that 10-20% of the U.S. population is lactose intolerant, meaning they have an inability to break down lactose in many of the dairy products they eat. (more…)
The hemicellulase enzyme breaks down hemicellulose, which is a type of cellulose and a key component of the cell wall in all plants. Different forms of plant hemicellulose include glucans, galactans, xylans, mannans and pentosans. Common fiber-rich breakfast cereals, for example, have a large amount of hemicelluloses (2 to 12%). Hemicellulase is needed to break down these fiber-rich components, and because it is not produced naturally in the human body, we rely on microorganisms that live in the human digestive tract to produce it for us. (more…)
