What is papain
Papain is a proteolytic enzyme found in papaya juice (Upload papaya), a Cariacee tree native to Brazil and Mexico. Functionally, it is a plant analogue of human pepsin (an enzyme secreted by the stomach to digest food proteins).
Production
Properties and Uses
Food uses
Since ancient times, the proteolytic activity of papain has been exploited by the indigenous peoples of South America to soften meat. Not surprisingly, in times when the refrigerator was still a chimera, in these regions meat foods were preserved by wrapping them with cure in papaya leaves.
Today papain is widely used in the food sector, where it is part - often associated with other plant enzymes such as bromelain and ficin - in preparations to soften meat and clarify drinks. However, these enzymes cannot penetrate deep into the tissues and are inactivated by heat, which is why when the steak has a certain thickness they can only soften it on the surface.
Papain in supplements
In the medical and phytotherapeutic fields, the most well-known application of papain is to aid digestion, especially at the gastric level (useful in the presence of hypochlorhydria and more generally in dyspepsia).
Topical use
In the cosmetic field, papain is used in the preparation of whitening toothpastes, depilatory creams, contact lens cleansing lotions and preparations to remove necrotic fragments from skin ulcers. Furthermore, always topically, it is used as a home remedy to relieve the itchy and painful states resulting from the bites / stings of bees, wasps, mosquitoes and jellyfish.
Topical preparations based on papain can cause allergic reactions, even severe ones, to which subjects allergic to latex are more exposed.
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