Serrapeptase: Benefits, Side Effects, Best Time to Take It & More

Serrapeptase

(Serratiopeptidase, Silk Worm Enzymes)

Evidence: Reasonable
Possible Benefits: Reasonable
Safety: Reasonable

What is serrapeptase?

Serrapeptase, also known as serratiopeptidase or silkworm enzyme, is an enzyme derived from silkworms commonly used as a dietary supplement for improving digestion. This article is about the main benefits of serrapeptase, 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, serrapeptase can help break down food and make it easier for the body to digest it.
Reduced inflammation – The supplement can reduce inflammation and pain and edema related to inflammation after surgery or physical trauma. It is unclear whether or not serrapeptase can be helpful for reducing inflammation related to other things.
Reduced symptoms of carpal tunnel – An improvement was found in one small human study. This study requires replication.

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.

Skin conditions – Supplementation can sometimes lead to skin problems, such as erythema or dermatosis.
Muscle and joint pain – This effect is relatively uncommon but has been reported in human trials.
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 60 mg or 120,000 enzymatic units (sometimes labeled IU or SPU) 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 serrapeptase?

You should probably avoid taking serrapeptase 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:

recently went through a surgery
cannot digest food well

How much serrapeptase should you take?

The sweet spot dose typically ranges between 10-20 mg or 20,000-40,000 enzymatic units (sometimes labeled IU or SPU) 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 serrapeptase 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 serrapeptase

The best time to take serrapeptase for improving digestion is about 30 minutes before or 2 hours after eating a meal.

Serrapeptase 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.

Interactions

Antibiotics
Serrapeptase can increase the efficacy and the side effects of antibiotics.

Where to buy serrapeptase?

In most countries, Amazon is the best option for ordering serrapeptase 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 serrapeptase 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 40 mg or 80000 enzymatic units (sometimes labeled IU or SPU) daily. This amount should give you most of the benefits without meaningful side effects.

The half-life of serrapeptase in the body is about 1-2 hours. This supplement gets metabolized within 10 hours after you consume it. 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.

Serrapeptase 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, serrapeptase 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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