liposomal enflog®

enflog® is an innovative blend of proteolytic enzymes: it contains Bromelain, extracted from pineapple stems, Papain, derived from papaya, and Fungal protease extracted from the Aspergillus oryzae fungus.

The liposomal form protects the enzymes from gastric digestion, improving their absorption in the intestines.

Proteolytic enzymes are enzymes capable of breaking protein bonds. Some of these enzymes act on proteins that are released during inflammatory processes.

• Bromelain, extracted from pineapple stems, is useful in controlling the evolution of inflammatory processes. Its maximum activity occurs when the pH* is between 5.5 and 8.
• Papain, extracted from the immature fruit of the papaya, has an action similar to that of Bromelain. It performs its activity best at pH* levels between 4 and 7.
• Fungal protease is obtained from the fermentation of the Aspergillus oryzae fungus. It carries out its activity over a wide pH* range (between 3 and 9).

*pH is the measure of a substance’s acidity. Its value ranges from 0 to 14. If the pH is equal to 7, the substance is neutral, while pH values lower than 7 indicate acidity and pH values higher than 7 indicate alkalinity.

Once ingested, proteolytic enzymes risk being rapidly degraded in the stomach without reaching the intestinal walls, where they should be absorbed.

For this reason, it is important to study appropriate strategies to protect the enzymes from the acidic environment of the stomach:

• gastro-protected capsules: encapsulating proteolytic enzymes in coatings capable of resisting gastric juices ensures their absorption in the intestines.
  
• liposomal form, which allows proteolytic enzymes to be administered even in non-encapsulated powder form.
  

A liposome is a microscopic vesicle consisting of a phospholipid bilayer. The central part of the liposome encloses a water core that can contain the proteolytic enzymes. Once ingested, liposomes are able to pass through the stomach without releasing their contents, only to break down in the intestines.

The enflog® proteolytic enzyme blend has been enclosed within liposomes.

• the liposome protects the enflog® proteolytic enzyme blend from the acidic pH of the stomach
  
• liposomes make the enzyme mix available in the intestines, because the phospholipids that compose them fuse with the intestinal epithelial membrane and release the enzyme mix inside it.