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Research Paper

Plant Enzyme Therapy and Absorption of
Undigested Food Substrates in the Blood Stream
Stan Bynum, Ph.D.

The benefits of supplemental plant enzymes on your health and blood have been documented in numerous research studies. Most of the excitement and knowledge of this vital nutritional factor stems back to the work of biochemist, Dr. Edward Howell, whose extensive, pioneering study into the enzyme concept began more than 50 years ago. His work, and that of other noted researchers, has shown the benefits of supplemental plant enzymes on various conditions of the body, particularly as they relate to the digestion and assimilation of foods.

Recent research has been increasingly more specific, focusing on different types and sources of plant enzymes, including various protease, lipase, carbohydrase, and cellulase preparations. Both in vitro and controlled in vivo studies using internal and parenteral routes have examined the effectiveness of these enzymes in a wide range of conditions including maldigestion, malabsorption, pancreatic insufficiency, steatorrhea, celiac disease, lactose intolerance, arterial obstruction and thrombotic disease. Reports from doctors across the nation indicate that plant enzymes are being used in an even broader spectrum of clinical conditions.

Data from various studies and clinical applications verify the efficacy of plant enzymes for a broad spectrum of conditions:

An English study showed a small dose of acid-stable lipase from a plant source (400mg) was as effective as a 25 times larger dosage of conventional pancreatin (10,000mg) in the treatment of malabsorption, malnutrition and steatorrhea due to pancreatic exocrine insufficiency. Unlike pancreatin, plant enzyme lipase delivers enzyme activity in the broad pH range from 3 to 9. It safely digests dietary fat in pancreatic insufficient patients, beginning in the stomach and continuing in the abnormal acidic conditions commonly found in the duodenum and jejunum.

Human and animal studies have compared the effectiveness of acid-stable lipase from various fungal species with that of pancreatin in the treatment of malabsorption and steatorrhea due to pancreatic insufficiency. Administered orally at mealtime, plant lipase has been found to be effective in these conditions and to offer certain advantages of both conventional and enteric-coated pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy.

Chronic pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis are the most common causes of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency.(1) Pancreatogenic steatorrhea results from failure of fat digestion leading to lipid malabsorption, impaired nutrition, weight loss and considerable social embarrassment.

Protease enzymes dramatically improve chronically obstructed arteries in humans (1,2,3). Numerous crossover, single-blind and placebo studies have confirmed this (4,5). Intravenous therapy with plant protease is dramatically more effective than anti-coagulant therapy (e.g. heparin, warfarin) at re-canalizing obstructed arteries and improving blood flow through stenosed arterial segments (4,13,15).

Amylase enzymes from plant sources are effective in vitro in the treatment of celiac disease. By enzymatically cleaving the toxic carbohydrate portion of gliadin, plant amylase preparations render grains like wheat and rye virtually harmless to individuals with gluten enteropathy (16,17).

With the prevalence and wide range of documented research, it is obvious that plant enzymes benefit specific conditions in the body. Much of this research has gone unrecognized by some health care professionals, particularly the research dealing with the intact absorption of food substrates. This research proves undoubtedly that non-digested food substrates do enter the blood and that plant enzymes can greatly benefit the bloodstream by breaking down different food substrates that otherwise would pass into the blood without being fully digested. This research supports and is confirmed by the findings of live blood tests before and after taking pure plant enzymes.

Macromolecules can and do pass intact from the human gut into the bloodstream under normal conditions (18-23, 25). This has been described as the "leaky bowel" phenomenon and may help to explain the apparent effectiveness of plant enzyme therapy in the nutritional management of conditions, including food allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, immune dysfunction and certain inflammatory disorders (18, 19, 35-43).

Pure plant enzymes (molecular weight approximately 35,000) are fully absorbed following oral administration. These proteases exhibit the same properties in the bloodstream as in other applications. This includes the ability to hydrolyze dietary proteins and polypeptides that have leaked into the bloodstream as food antigens. Protease shows anti-inflammatory properties (5,8,9,12,14) and has been shown to be effective when administered intravenously in re-establishing circulation through chronically obstructed arteries in humans (4,13).

Other animal and human studies have shown that numerous specific whole proteins, including plant and animal enzymes, are absorbed intact into the bloodstream following oral administration. These include human albumin and lactalbumin, bovine albumin, ovalbumin, lactoglobulin, ferritin (M.A. 500,000), chymotrsinoge, elastase, and other large molecules, such as botulism toxin (M.W. 1,000,000) (18-20,24,32-34). Even inert particles, such as carbon particles from India ink (18), and whole viruses (26) can cross the healthy intestine.

Proteins and polypeptides absorbed intact from the gut can exert pharmacological effects on target tissues. Several peptide hormones are known to be biologically active when administered orally, including luteinizing hormone releasing factor and thyrotropin releasing hormone (27,28).

Insulin can cross the intestinal mucosa intact and produce significant hypoglycemia under limited circumstances (e.g. in the presence of protease inhibitors or hypertonic solutions in the intestinal lumen) (29,30).

There is strong evidence that the body seeks to conserve its digestive enzymes by absorbing intact endogenous and exogenous pancreatic enzymes. Trypsin and chymotrypsin are absorbed intact into the blood stream in an enzymatically active form following oral administration.

Even more dramatic is the finding that both endogenous and exogenous enzymes are not only absorbed intact from the gut, but also transported through the bloodstream, taken up intact by pancreatic secretory cells, and re-secreted into the intestinal lumen by the pancreas mixed with newly synthesized pancreatic enzymes (31). The existence of this enteropancreatic circulation of proteolytic enzymes is closely analogous to the "recycling" of bile salts by the liver.

By digesting dietary protein, plant enzymes administered orally at mealtime work to decrease the supply of antigenic macromolecules available to leak into the bloodstream. In addition, orally administered plant enzymes, which have, themselves, been absorbed intact, may help to "digest" antigenic dietary proteins that they encounter in the bloodstream. Further research is needed to evaluate the role of plant enzymes in the treatment of food allergies.

Considerable evidence exists supporting the biological and therapeutic importance of the "leaky bowel" phenomenon and the role of plant enzyme therapy. The intact absorption of orally administered foods and plant enzymes can no longer be reasonably denied.

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Special Recognition to Dr. Resnik whose studies contributed to this research.

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