Composition of Papain

In 1873 an article in the Calcutta Medical Journal first described the action of the enzyme papain, which is obtained from the papaya fruit. The papaya is grown in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. Papain is widely used as a meat tenderizer and also has medical uses.

Composition

• Chemically, papain is a single-chained polypeptide with three disulfide bridges and a supfhydryl group. It is a proteolytic enzyme, which describes its ability to break down long chains of proteins into shorter fragments called peptides, and ultimately into its constituent amino acids.

Uses

• The primary use for papain is in the food industry as a meat tenderizer, due to its ability to hydrolyze protein. This property has led to its use as a digestive aid for those having trouble digesting proteins. Some alternative practitioners report success with using papain to treat some allergies and autoimmune diseases. Historically, papain was used in topical creams to help digest dead tissue, though this is now discontinued.

Considerations

• Since 2008 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the manufacture of unapproved topical drugs containing papain. This followed reports of severe reactions to products containing the enzyme, including anaphylactic shock. The FDA also concluded there was a lack of sound scientific studies supporting the efficacy of papain in topical treatments.