Recent Advances and Insights into Bromelain Processing, Pharmacokinetics and Therapeutic Uses

Salvatore Adinolfi,Alessandro Colletti,Mauro Marengo,Shuyi Li,Giancarlo Cravotto

doi:10.3390/app11188428

Salvatore Adinolfi, Alessandro Colletti + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/app11188428

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Abstract

Bromelain is a mixture of proteolytic enzymes that is extracted primarily from pineapples. It is present in almost all the aerial parts of the plant—the peels, leaves, stems and fruit—although only the fruit and stems contain significant amounts. The market-demand for bromelain is quickly increasing, especially in the health sector as it can be used as a drug and/or nutraceutical. Although the complete molecular mechanism has not been fully identified, bromelain possesses several properties, including anti-inflammatory, anti-oedema, antithrombotic and fibrinolytic, mucolytic, anticancer and cicatrizing effects that have been evaluated in several clinical trials. However, one of the main limitations for the clinical use of this supplement is the varying composition of extracts, which leads to heterogeneity in results and, therefore, difficulty in making evidence-based prescriptions. In fact, different geographic locations, land and modes of cultivation, as well as extraction methods, can all give extracts with different activities, depending on the plant part used. Additionally, although novel extraction techniques have been developed to improve bromelain purification and extraction and give higher yields without loss in enzymatic activity, these methods are still expensive and challenging. This review will describe the state of the art in the main conventional and unconventional extraction and purification methods of bromelain and discuss the advantages and limitations of these strategies. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles and the clinical applications that have arisen from randomized controlled clinical trials are also discussed. Finally, future perspectives for bromelain extracts will be presented.

Highlights

Bromelain is a mixture of proteolytic enzymes that is extracted primarily from pineapples (Ananas comosus) that is well known and used in several fields, especially in the nutraceutical and cosmeceutical sectors [1]
Bromelain was initially defined as the mixture of enzymes produced in the fruit, today, this term includes any protease extracted from any member of the Bromeliaceae family [3]
Phosphatases, ribonuclease, cellulases, peroxidases and glycoproteases, which primarily cleave alanyl, glycyl and leucyl peptide bonds. These enzymes are present in different ratios that depend on a number of factors, including the geographic location of the plant, the land and mode of cultivation, the extraction method, and the part of the plant used [5]

Summary

Introduction

Bromelain is a mixture of proteolytic enzymes that is extracted primarily from pineapples (Ananas comosus) that is well known and used in several fields, especially in the nutraceutical and cosmeceutical sectors [1] It was first identified by Marcano in 1891 in pineapple juice, and Heinecke discovered higher amounts of bromelain in the stem than the fruit in 1957 [2]. Phosphatases, ribonuclease, cellulases, peroxidases and glycoproteases, which primarily cleave alanyl, glycyl and leucyl peptide bonds. These enzymes are present in different ratios that depend on a number of factors, including the geographic location of the plant, the land and mode of cultivation, the extraction method, and the part of the plant used [5]. These significant differences in bromelain composition, probably due to the presence of different thiol-endopeptidases, may, in part, explain the great heterogeneity of clinical and preclinical results for potential effects on a wide category of conditions, including inflammatory diseases, cancer, immune dysfunction and others [8]

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