Enzymes at a glance:
- Involved in every metabolic process (biocatalysts)
- Play a key role in healing inflammation and injuries
- Support, stabilise, regulate and balance the immune system
- Improve blood circulation
- Reduce pain and swelling
- Natural anti-ageing
- Well-known enzymes: papain, bromelain, lysozyme, trypsin and chymotrypsin
The importance of enzymes for the human body
Enzymes are biological catalysts that play a key role in almost all reactions within the human body. They ensure that all metabolic processes run smoothly and make life as we know it possible. Cellular reactions that would take minutes or hours without the catalytic action of enzymes take place in seconds or minutes with the involvement of enzymes.
Enzymes also play a vital role in ensuring the proper functioning of the human immune system. When the body is forced to cope with stress on the immune system, enzymes play a crucial role.
Normally, enzymes are produced by the body itself as proteins; however, this production declines sharply from the age of 30. An unhealthy lifestyle, a lack of vital nutrients or heavy smoking can further exacerbate a potential enzyme deficiency.
Enzyme therapy can therefore help to compensate for an enzyme deficiency, activate individual components of the immune system and maintain healthy cellular metabolism.
Particularly in patients with rheumatic conditions or nutritional deficiencies, enzyme supplementation can help to support metabolism and the immune system, and assist in ensuring that physiological reactions can once again proceed correctly.
Enzyme activity
The potency of enzymes is not measured in grams, but rather by their activity. This is also known as ‘proteolytic activity’ and is expressed in FIP units. The value of the FIP units is set by the Fédération Internationale de Pharmaceutique (F-I-P), the International Pharmaceutical Federation.
What is enzyme activity and how does it work?
Enzymes are proteins that enable or accelerate chemical reactions in the body. For an enzyme to work, it must react with a specific substance – known as the substrate. Its enzyme activity describes how many substrate molecules it can convert within a given time. The FIP unit measures this in a standardised way: 1 unit corresponds to the conversion of 1 µmol of substrate per minute under specified conditions. Enzymes are substrate- and action-specific, meaning they only convert certain substances and trigger specific reactions. Many enzymes require cofactors (e.g. magnesium, iron) or coenzymes – small organic molecules, often based on vitamins – to function.
Total proteolytic activity of innovazym®
1,053,576 FIP per daily dose, broken down as follows:
Bromelain: 876 FIP per daily dose
Papain: 1,650 FIP per daily dose
Lysozyme: 1,051,050 FIP per daily dose
