Bromelain is an enzyme that is extracted from the stems of pineapples. Venezuelan chemist Vicente Marcano isolated bromelain from the fruit in 1891, but it wasn't introduced as a therapeutic supplement until 1957. Taken orally, bromelain can aid with removing dead proteins in skin cells, but the effects are very gradual. As a supplement, it can help with the pain and inflammation of varicose veins. Used topically, bromelain speeds healing and dissolves cross-linked (read: dead) collagen cells, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and any uneven pigmentation. Bromelain also has been shown to reduce inflammation, which is believed to be a factor in the aging of skin.
Bromelain is found in a number of beauty products, including Z.Bigatti Impact Fruit Enzyme Mask, Murad Exfoliating Fruit Enzyme Mask, and Alba Organics Hawaiian Pineapple Enzyme Facial Cleanser.
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Interesting! I'd never heard of bromelain before.
1Incoming biology student!
Cross-linking is a good thing in cells...it's what makes skin, and everything else, elastic. Collagen and keratin, the two common ones, are made up of spring-shaped proteins (alpha helices) that exist between the cells of your skin. Literally, they sproing.
Also, collagen is a protein, not a cell...it's not a living thing, in and of itself. You can find it inside cells, but it's most commonly outside. What we see as aging is the springs of collagen (it's actually 3 woven springs in its most common form) losing their sproing, and this causes connective tissue, what makes our faces taut, start to go slack.
(Before you go buy collagen supplements...it doesn't work that way, either. Think of collagen as a toy made of legos...once it hits your stomach, it gets broken apart into a whole mass of single legos, which get sent all over. It won't just get piped, all in one piece, to where you need it. I know, bummer!)
Not saying it doesn't work, I'm just trying to dispel some not-quite-right jargon. Sorry if I'm being a buzzkill!
2Bromelain seems an extra ordinary substance for skin care, but only few skin care organizations has worked on it, this is the reason it is not so familiar among the common person.
It is very useful for the production of melanin (coloring substance in skin) reduce the risk of common pigmentation conditions due to the hypo-pigmentation.
I think it would be as important as Aloe Vera and Olive oil for skin.
3Yeah, this is interesting stuff. I know the copper peptides that are supposed to be so effective at stimulating new skin growth work because they're basically broken up proteins that look to the skin like remnants of dead collagen. I wonder if bromelain would have the same effect as it's primary function appears to be the ability to break up proteins, and making many enzymes available for in vivo synthesis of good proteins. This is why it makes a good catalyst and seems to improve supplement absorption.
I suspect there will be lots of bromelain-oriented research in the near future.
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