The Difference Between Digestive and Systemic Enzymes

In this health video you will learn the difference between digestive and systemic enzymes.

Raena Morgan: Hi, I am Raena Morgan with iHealthTube, visiting with Nena Dockery. Nena is our enzyme expert and one of the things I’d like to ask you, Nena, is what is the difference between digestive enzymes and systemic enzymes? Nena Dockery: Well, the basic difference is when we’re talking about digestive enzymes, we are talking about enzymes that impact—somehow impact—digestion, the digestive process. When we’re talking about systemic enzymes, we’re looking at enzymes that somehow impact processes that are going on outside the digestive system. And in order to do that—the problem in order to do that is they have to be able to survive the gastric environment— Raena Morgan: The stomach. Nena Dockery: The stomach. And it’s—there’s been a lot of discussion of this and some, perhaps misunderstanding, as to the way these enzymes can survive that. We know that animal enzymes, for the most part, are active only in an alkaline region, and they are basically destroyed in a low acid—or a low pH region, or the acidity of the stomach; and therefore, those products are typically intearant coded. They’re coded with something, so they can survive. But unlike those, microbial and plant enzymes do have the ability to survive a low pH region. So, there has been research done that shows that they can survive through the stomach and be active in the intestinal region after passing through the low pH of the gastric region. You can take them while you’re eating, and because they have the ability—they are active in a region that goes down to a pH of 2 or 3— Raena Morgan: Okay. Nena Dockery: That they can survive that and be active in that region—yes, they do survive and then they can also survive in the intestine and be active there. Their pH range for activity is very broad. They have a pH range, many of them, from around 3 to even upwards of 7, 8, 9. So they have a very broad range for activity. So, they do work throughout that whole system. Raena Morgan: The difference between the digestive enzymes and the systemic enzymes then would be. Nena Dockery: The place where they work, the action that they have for digestive enzymes begin in the digestive tract. For the systemic enzymes, being outside the process of digestion. And also, the other difference is, would be the time that you take them. For digestive enzymes, you want to take them in conjunction with a meal. For systemic enzymes, in order to avoid all contribution that they would have to the digestive process, you want to take them between meals. So you don’t want to take them while you’re eating a meal, or they would function as digestive enzymes and there would be some problems where you wouldn’t get the full activity that you would want and need for a systemic application. So that’s the 2 basic, basic differences—would be where they’re intent is for functioning and also the time in which they would be taken. Systemic enzymes are taken in order to impact within the circulation, usually to mediate an inflammatory condition—either vascularily in the blood or extravascularily in the tissue outside of the blood stream. We have research—some of the preliminary research was done on bromolane, which is a plant enzyme; and more recently some work done with microbial enzymes, particularly fungal enzymes that show that they have the ability to impact the inflammatory process in circulation—either in the vascular system by helping to break down fibrin, which is the substance—the protein—which actually forms clots in the bloodstream, or extravascularily—outside—where tissue inflammation occurs as a result of soft tissue injury or trauma to the system. Now how that process occurs, we really don’t know and there has been a lot of discussion recently—I know, and it has always been that way—that large proteins, such as enzymes, would not pass through the intestinal wall in tact, in order to function in the blood stream. And logistically, that seems that, that would be true. We know that something is happening. What research is trying to show right now is do they pass intact through the intestinal wall and function as enzymes in the system or do they somehow interact with other substances on the outside of the intestinal wall—the blood stream side of the intestinal wall—that then impact the inflammatory processes within the system. Raena Morgan: So these are the questions and the discussions that go on. Nena Dockery: Right. These are the questions and the research that is going on right now, on exactly how they function. Most of these are proteases and so they are—they function to break down certain proteins, like fibrin, or to mediate pro-inflammatory substances, such as cytokines, TNF-Alpha, for instance is one of the ones that has been studied; and they see that they are impacting those substances in circulation. We’re just really not sure at this point how they do it. Raena Morgan: Nena, could you give us an example of a systemic enzyme? Nena Dockery: Yes. Most of the products that are sold for systemic uses are proteases—they break down protein. Traditionally, the first products were derived from animal sources—just like the first digestives were derived from animal sources. They are interic coded, so they will survive the action of the stomach region, even though they are taken on an empty stomach. Then there are some that are derived from plant sources, particularly bromolame and papain have been studied for many years, and these are both proteolytic enzymes as well. More recently, the microbials have been studied more because they have a much broader range of activity. They don’t have to be interic coded. Again, they are proteases and usually fungals. We are now actually studying those and how they are functioning in systemic circulation. Raena Morgan: So you’re still steeped in research? Nena Dockery: Oh, yes, yes. Very much so. Raena Morgan: Well, thank you, Nena. Nena Dockery: Thank you.