Papain

From WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia

Papain is a powerful digestive enzyme commonly found and extracted from the papaya fruit. It is also referred to as papaya proteinase. The enzyme plays a crucial role in digestive processes involving breaking down tough protein fibers. For this reason, it has been commonly used in its native South America for thousands of years in the digestion of meats.

History[edit | edit source]

The history of Papain dates back to the ancient Maya civilization, who were the first to discover the benefits of Papain. They used it for various purposes, including meat tenderization, wound healing, and as a digestive aid.

Structure[edit | edit source]

Papain is a cysteine protease (EC 3.4.22.2) that cleaves peptide bonds of basic amino acids, leucine, or glycine. It consists of 212 amino acids stabilized by three disulfide bridges.

Uses[edit | edit source]

Papain has a wide range of uses in various industries. It is used in the food industry as a meat tenderizer and in the beer industry for chillproofing beers. In the pharmaceutical industry, it is used in various treatments such as throat infections and digestion problems.

Side Effects[edit | edit source]

While Papain is generally safe for most people when taken by mouth in amounts found in foods, it can cause allergic reactions in some people.

See Also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]


Papain Resources
Wikipedia
WikiMD
Navigation: Wellness - Encyclopedia - Health topics - Disease Index‏‎ - Drugs - World Directory - Gray's Anatomy - Keto diet - Recipes

Search WikiMD

Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro / Zepbound) available.
Advertise on WikiMD

WikiMD's Wellness Encyclopedia

Let Food Be Thy Medicine
Medicine Thy Food - Hippocrates

WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. See full disclaimer.
Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.

Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD