notícias da empresa sobre The difference between bromelain and papain

    In the field of enzyme preparations, bromelain and papain are both commonly used plant-derived proteolytic enzymes, both possessing the core function of protein breakdown. However, due to significant differences in production costs, they have ultimately developed distinctly different application areas.

Bromelain: High-Value-Added Pharmaceutical Applications   

 Bromelain is mainly extracted from the stems or fruits of pineapples. Its production process involves multiple purification steps—removing polysaccharides, pigments, and other impurities from the pineapple, while simultaneously using chromatography and filtration techniques to ensure stable enzyme activity. This complex process results in a much higher production cost than papain. From an economic perspective, bromelain applications are concentrated in the pharmaceutical field, where cost sensitivity is low and product added value is high. It is often used to prepare oral formulations or topical gels, such as enzyme tablets for intestinal digestion.

Papain: Low-Cost Advantage in Multiple Applications in the Food Industry
Papain is extracted from the latex of unripe papaya fruits. Its production process is relatively simple—crude enzyme products can be obtained through centrifugation and low-temperature drying. If higher purity is required, subsequent purification steps do not require complex equipment. The overall production cost is only 1/3 to 1/2 that of bromelain. This cost advantage allows it to meet the "large-scale, low-cost" application requirements of the food industry, making it a mainstream enzyme preparation in meat processing, condiment production, and other fields. Specific applications include:

    Meat Tenderization: Papain is one of the most widely used tenderizing agents. The connective tissue in meat is mainly composed of collagen. Papain can specifically break down the peptide bonds of collagen, converting it into small peptide molecules, thus disrupting the meat's fibrous structure and making the meat tender. In actual production, papain is usually formulated into a solution and injected or soaked into the meat. After reacting at 30-50℃ for 1-2 hours, it can significantly improve the taste of red meats such as beef and pork, and the cost is controllable, making it suitable for large-scale use in slaughterhouses and meat processing plants.

    Salty Flavors and Yeast Extracts: Papain plays a core role in "protein hydrolysis." In the production of savory flavorings, papain can hydrolyze animal and plant proteins (such as chicken and beef proteins) into amino acids and small peptides. These substances are the main source of the "meaty" flavor, enhancing its richness and realism. In yeast extract production, papain can break down proteins within yeast cell walls, releasing flavor compounds such as nucleotides and amino acids. It also reduces the viscosity of the extract, improving product purity. Due to its low cost, it can meet the needs of "ton-scale" production of yeast extracts.

    Protein peptide preparation: Papain also has advantages. It can hydrolyze large proteins such as soy protein and whey protein into smaller protein peptides. These peptides are more easily absorbed by the human body and possess certain physiological activity, making them suitable for the production of nutritional fortifiers in health foods and infant formula. Compared to other proteases, papain's hydrolysis conditions are mild (no high temperature or high pressure required) and its low cost makes it suitable for food companies to prepare protein peptide raw materials on a large scale.

    The difference in applications between bromelain and papain stems from the matching logic of "cost-value": due to the high cost of extraction and purification, bromelain can only achieve a balance of "high cost-high added value" in the pharmaceutical field. Its application requires meeting strict purity and activity standards, and the product price is relatively high. On the other hand, papain, with its low cost advantage, is irreplaceable in the "large-scale, low-unit-price" scenario of the food industry. Its application focuses more on cost-effectiveness and batch applicability.