Pineapple: Get To Know Bromelain And Its Benefits In The World Of Health

                                     

Introduction

Not long ago, a video about a new way to eat pineapple, viral on social media. Different from usual, where someone peels the skin off the leaves first, this time the video uploader only removes the leaves, then releases the pineapple part by part by hand. In this way, the portion of pineapple hump that is usually set aside and not eaten, will also be consumed, even if only a small portion.

The question is, does pineapple hump have benefits so that it is good for the body, if it is consumed? We all know that this part is hard and can not be enjoyed. However, it turns out pineapple hump does have many uses.

Bromelain, a protein digestive enzyme, is an important ingredient that can be found in pineapple tubers. Bromelain has been used for many years in traditional medicine to treat various health problems.

In in vitro studies (experimental models in controlled environments outside living organisms) and in vivo (experimental models that use living things), Bromelain shows that various activities such as antiedema/overcoming swelling, antithrombotic/preventing blood clots, and anti-inflammatory/reducing inflammation. Bromelain can also be absorbed well by the body without losing the effectiveness of its proteolytic enzymes (enzymes that help the digestive mechanism by breaking down complex protein molecules) and do not cause harmful side effects.

Until now, Bromelain often provides benefits in handling various diseases such as bronchitis, sinusitis, osteoarthritis, diarrhea, reducing postoperative pain, and coronary heart disease. In addition, Bromelain also has anticancer effects. These findings indicate that Bromelain can present as a promising candidate for the development of anticancer therapy strategies in the future.

To help with treatment, Bromelain can be found in the form of pills, tablets and creams. This method is better considering the Bromelain dose is not large enough in the pineapple itself, so eating the fruit or drinking juice is not effective.

Benefits of Bromelain in Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (cardiovascular disease / CVD) includes disorders of blood vessels and heart, coronary heart disease (heart attack), cerebrovascular disease (stroke), increased blood pressure (hypertension), peripheral arterial disease (blood flow due to narrowing of blood vessels from the heart / arteries ), rheumatic heart disease, heart failure, and congenital heart disease. Bromelain can prevent coronary heart disease from getting worse. This is because fibrinolytic activity (activity that prevents blood clots and clots) is strong from Bromelain, so it can break down cholesterol plaque.

In addition, Bromelain is an inhibitor of platelet aggregation (attachment between platelets/blood cells that play a role in the process of normal blood clotting), thereby minimizing the risk of thrombosis/blocked blood vessels and arterial embolism or obstruction in the flow of blood vessels that can pretend air bubbles or blood the clot.

Benefits of Bromelain in Inflammatory Diseases

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. Research conducted in 2012 in the United States, showed significant improvement in symptoms in osteoarthritis patients who were taking only painkillers (sodium diclofenac). Bromelain has analgesic/pain relief properties that are considered to have a direct influence on pain mediators such as bradykinin.

Benefits of Bromelain in Debridement of Burns

Bromelain applied in the form of a cream can provide benefits to damaged skin tissue and accelerate healing in burns. This is because Bromelain contains Escharse (nonproteolytic enzymes). This enzyme does not have the activity of hydrolytic enzymes (enzymes that are able to control intracellular digestion) to the normal protein substrate (substances that can be changed by enzymes), so it can get rid of damaged skin layers and preserve unburned tissue. Debridement or removing dead tissue and cleaning wounds from impurities originating from enzymatic burns using Bromelain, is better than surgical debridement, because surgical incisions are painful, exposing the patient to the risk of anesthesia, and significant bleeding.

Benefits of Bromelain as an Anticancer

Recent studies have shown that Bromelain has the capacity to modify the main pathway that causes cancer. Anticancer activity of Bromelain is seen in cancer cells and their microenvironment, as well as in modulation/changes in the immune system, inflammation, and hemostasis (stopping bleeding).

In an experiment carried out by Beez et al, papillomas (a type of tumor that attacks epithelial tissue and mucous membranes and are benign) following chemically induced skin, were given Bromelain. Then they observed that Bromelain reduced tumor formation, tumor volume, and caused cell death. In other studies, Bromelain can reduce the invasive capacity of gliobalstoma cells (a type of tumor that usually appears in the brain or spine) and reduce the formation of an important molecule of protein.

An interesting aspect of the anti-cancer activity of Bromelain is its inhibitory effect on cancer metastasis. Bromelain has the potential to interfere with the development of tumor metastases at various important points. Bromelain inhibits cell surface protein adhesion which is important in cell adhesion (biological processes with single cells forming tissues in the body such as veins and blood vessels), migration and inflammation.

Spread/metastasis of tumor cells is a cause of high cancer-related mortality. There are at least four interrelated biological events that are needed to tumor tumors: angiogenesis (the process of forming new blood cells), cell adhesion, cell invasion and cell proliferation (the cell phase when undergoing cell cycle repetition without inhibition).

Benefits of Bromelain as an Antibacterial

Bromelain can ward off diarrhea caused by toxins from Escherichia coli and Vibrio Cholerae bacteria. In vitro studies show that Bromelain has anti-helminthics (a group of antiparasitic drugs) that can protect the body from gastrointestinal parasites such as Trichuris muris and Heligmosomoides polygyrus.

Bromelain also has antifungal activity. Bromelain is reported to cure Pityriasis lichenoides chronica, a skin infections caused by fungi. The combination of Bromelain and antibiotics shows more significant effects than antibiotics alone, for example in pneumonia/wet lungs, bronchitis, Staphylococcus skin infections, cellulitis (common infections of the skin and soft tissue under the skin), pyelonephritis (infection of the kidneys due to birus or bacteria), rectal and perirectal abscesses (abscesses / puffiness near the anus), sinusitis, and urinary tract infections.

Conclusion

Bromelain has various therapeutic benefits. However, the mechanism of action is not well known. From various in vitro and in vivo studies, it is proven that Bromelain is well absorbed in the body after oral administration and has no severe side effects, even after prolonged use. Bromelain can be used as an effective health supplement.