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…)
Xylanase (pronounced zy-lan-ase) is a naturally-occurring enzyme that can have beneficial impacts on human health and digestion.[1] Fungi and bacteria produce xylanase, and it's produced by insects, crustaceans like snails, and even seeds.[2] Mammals, including humans, do not produce xylanase, but some of our gut bacteria do. Scientifically speaking, it is an enzyme that breaks down xylan, a type of hemicellulose, by cleaving the molecule’s beta 1,4 backbone into a simple sugar called xylose. Xylan is the second most common polysaccharide in nature and is a component of plant cell […]
Glucoamylase (also known as amyloglucosidase or AMG) is an important digestive enzyme that helps us absorb nutrients and create energy from some of the most common plant foods that we eat. It does this by breaking down the starch that occurs naturally in most vegetables that we eat. This starch is present in high amounts in common foods like potatoes, corn, rice, and wheat. It’s also added as a filler or processing additive in prepared food products. (more…)
