Papain

(Papaya Enzyme, Papaya Enzymes, Papaya Leaf)

Evidence: Low
Possible Benefits: Reasonable
Safety: Reasonable

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is Papain?

Papain is an enzyme derived from papaya commonly used as a dietary supplement for improving the digestion of protein. This article is about the main benefits of Papain, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.

Possible benefits

All of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. As with most other supplements, there is a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get most of the benefits without causing meaningful side effects or tolerance buildup in the body. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.

Minor benefits

  • Improved digestion – As an enzyme, Papain can help break down dietary protein and make it easier for the body to digest it.

Possible side effects

The side effects below are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.

  • Inflammation – In some people, high doses of papaya enzyme supplements may cause irritation or inflammation in the mouth, throat, or esophagus.
  • Allergic reaction – An allergy to this supplement is rare but possible.
  • Toxicity – While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking high amounts of this supplement could lead to chronic toxicity and cause health problems over time. Regularly taking high doses can also cause the body to develop a tolerance to the supplement. To prevent chronic toxicity or the buildup of tolerance, staying below 1200 mg in a day is best unless you have a great reason to take more.
  • Contamination – Contaminated supplements are uncommon in the USA and other well-regulated countries. However, if you wish to buy products from China, India, or other countries without strict regulations, beware that the supplements may be contaminated. Either way, you need to choose the brand you order from wisely. Always read through some reviews for the specific product before you buy it. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has the power to regulate dietary supplements but can only do so after they have been on the market for a while. That’s because supplement companies are not obligated to announce to the FDA when releasing a new product. The FDA has to discover the product and test it for potential impurities, which can take a lot of time. During that time, the supplement can be sold on the market even if it’s impure. Also, supplement companies can change their manufacturers without announcing it to the FDA.

Who should not take Papain?

You should probably avoid taking Papain if you:

  • are allergic to this supplement
  • experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the supplement
  • are pregnant or breastfeeding (while it can be safe to take this supplement during pregnancy or breastfeeding, it can put some unnecessary risk to the child)

Who will benefit the most?

You should consider taking the supplement if you:

  • cannot digest food well
  • have a high budget for supplements and are willing to experiment with a variety of them (assuming you don’t fall into any of the categories that should avoid this supplement, Papain appears relatively safe and is unlikely to do more harm than good for most people)

How much Papain should you take?

The sweet spot dose typically ranges between 300-600 mg daily for most people. This amount should provide most of the benefits without meaningful side effects.

The higher end of this range usually provides slightly more benefits in the short term. If you plan to take this supplement for a longer time (multiple months or years), the lower end is probably a better way to go since it is safer, and you would develop tolerance faster if you were to take higher doses.

The upper safety limit for this supplement is not well-established. To stay on the safe side, don’t take more than the recommended dose unless you have a great reason to do so. Higher amounts may cause problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.

Like most other supplements, it is best to cycle Papain and take about two days off weekly to reset your tolerance. That will allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.

Best time to take Papain

The best time to take Papain for improving digestion is about 30 minutes before or 2 hours after eating a meal.
Papain is water-soluble, so you don’t have to take it with food to absorb it well.

Whether you take the supplement in the morning or the evening does not make much difference. Both options are fine so feel free to experiment.

Where to buy Papain?

In most countries, Amazon is the best option for ordering Papain supplements. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the Internet.

Some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.

FAQ

Like most other supplements, it is best to cycle Papain and take a break from it for about two days per week to reset your tolerance back to baseline. That will keep your body sensitive to the supplement and allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.

All of these options are fine. The two most important things to consider are the price and dosing. Powders are almost always the cheapest form. However, you may need a highly accurate scale to dose them correctly (preferably 0.001g). You can get one for as little as $20 from Amazon. Dosing the powders also takes time which can add up over months or years. The disadvantage of capsules is that they are often made of bovine gelatine, which rarely comes from ethical sources.

Yes. Whether you take the supplement in the morning or the evening does not make much difference. Both options are fine so feel free to experiment.

This supplement should not become harmful once it exceeds the expiration date. However, it can lose potency over time. Keep this supplement in a cold, dark, and dry place so it remains as potent for many months or even years.

While acute toxicity is rare, taking very high amounts of this supplement could lead to various problems over time. High doses can also make you develop tolerance much faster than lower doses.

While you could safely take higher doses, there is usually no point in taking more than 1200 mg daily. This amount should give you most of the benefits without meaningful side effects.

Unfortunately, not much is known about the half-life of Papain in the body. However, most of the effects of this supplement are cumulative, so they mainly happen in the long term rather than acutely. Therefore, the half-life of this supplement isn’t very relevant in practice.

Papain may acutely improve your digestion shortly after you start taking it. In the long term, you must take the supplement for about 2-4 weeks to begin noticing most of the benefits.

Yes. Papain is derived from papaya, which is vegan-friendly. If you buy the supplement in a capsulated form, beware that the capsules often contain animal-based gelatin. Instead, find a brand that puts its products into cellulose capsules.

No, it does not. The supplement should not interfere with fasting in any significant way. However, you still want to take the supplement with food as it will absorb better.

References

Most of the information in this guide is based on scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything you read in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.

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We hope this guide has helped you determine if you should add Papain to your supplement stack and how to do it right.

If you have any further questions or want to share your feedback, feel free to send us an email!

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