Digestive Enzyme Supplementation in Gastrointestinal Diseases
Background: Digestive enzymes are able to break down proteins and carbohydrates and lipids, and their supplementation may play a role in the management of digestive disorders, from lactose intolerance to cystic fibrosis. To date, several formulations of digestive enzymes are available
on the market, being different each other in terms of enzyme type, source and origin, and dosage.
Methods: This review, performed through a non-systematic search of the available literature, will provide an overview of the current knowledge of digestive enzyme supplementation in gastrointestinal disorders, discussion of the use of pancreatic enzymes, lactase (β-galactosidase) and conjugated bile acids, and also exploring the future perspective of digestive enzyme supplementation.
Results: Currently, the animal-derived enzymes represent an established standard of care, however the growing study of plant-based and microbe-derived enzymes offers great promise in the advancement of digestive enzyme therapy.
Conclusion: New frontiers of enzyme replacement are being evaluated also in the treatment of diseases not specifically related to enzyme deficiency, whereas the combination of different enzymes might constitute an intriguing therapeutic option in the future.
Methods: This review, performed through a non-systematic search of the available literature, will provide an overview of the current knowledge of digestive enzyme supplementation in gastrointestinal disorders, discussion of the use of pancreatic enzymes, lactase (β-galactosidase) and conjugated bile acids, and also exploring the future perspective of digestive enzyme supplementation.
Results: Currently, the animal-derived enzymes represent an established standard of care, however the growing study of plant-based and microbe-derived enzymes offers great promise in the advancement of digestive enzyme therapy.
Conclusion: New frontiers of enzyme replacement are being evaluated also in the treatment of diseases not specifically related to enzyme deficiency, whereas the combination of different enzymes might constitute an intriguing therapeutic option in the future.
Keywords: Bile acids; celiac disease; enzyme supplementation; gastrointestinal disease; lactose intolerance; pancreatic insufficiency
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: February 1, 2016
- Current Drug Metabolism aims to cover all the latest and outstanding developments in drug metabolism and disposition. The journal serves as an international forum for the publication of timely reviews in drug metabolism. Current Drug Metabolism is an essential journal for academic, clinical, government and pharmaceutical scientists who wish to be kept informed and up-to-date with the latest and most important developments. The journal covers the following areas:
In vitro systems including CYP-450; enzyme induction and inhibition; drug-drug interactions and enzyme kinetics; pharmacokinetics, toxicokinetics, species scaling and extrapolations; P-glycoprotein and transport carriers; target organ toxicity and interindividual variability; drug metabolism and disposition studies; extrahepatic metabolism; phase I and phase II metabolism; recent developments for the identification of drug metabolites and adducts. - Editorial Board
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