Bromelain
group of enzymes
Bromelain is an enzyme extract derived from the stems of pineapples, although it exists in all parts of the fresh plant and fruit. The extract has a history of folk medicine use. As a culinary ingredient, it may be used as a meat tenderizer.
The term "bromelain" may refer to either of two protease enzymes extracted from the plants of the family Bromeliaceae, or it may refer to a combination of those enzymes along with other compounds produced in an extract.
Although tested in a variety of folk medicine and research models for its possible efficacy against diseases, the only approved clinical application for bromelain was issued in 2012 by the European Medicines Agency for a topical medication, called Nexobrid, used to remove dead tissue in severe skin burns. There is no other established application for bromelain as a nutraceutical or drug.
Extract components
Bromelain extract is a mixture of protein-digesting (proteolytic) enzymes and several other substances in smaller quantities. The proteolytic enzymes are sulfhydryl proteases; a free sulfhydryl group of a cysteine amino acid side chain is required for function. The two main enzymes are:
Stem bromelain – EC 3.4.22.32
Fruit bromelain – EC 3.4.22.33
History
Pineapples have a long tradition as a medicinal plant among the natives of South and Central America. The first isolation of bromelain was recorded by the Venezuelan chemist Vicente Marcano in 1891 by fermenting the fruit of the pineapple.
“Bromelain” enters the record as group of enzymes. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Bromelain, group and enzymes can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q415756. The Library of Congress control number is sh85017047. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2012 and 1891.
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This entry incorporates text from “Bromelain” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.