Serrapeptase

Serrapeptase is a proteolytic (protein destroying) enzyme from bacteria native to the digestive system of silkworms. It is the enzyme responsible for dissolving a silkworm’s cocoon.

Traditionally, serrapeptase has been used for its anti-inflammatory properties. Today, it is marketed as a joint health supplement.

Unfortunately, many studies on serrapeptase were poorly structured, with inadequate control groups. The most recent data suggests that serrapeptase is not a very effective supplement, as far as joint health and inflammation is concerned.

Though serrapeptase has been detected in plasma after supplementation, the standard oral dose for serrapeptase is low, which means very little is absorbed through the intestines. This may be one of the reasons serrapeptase is unreliable and not very effective.

Serrapeptase has been found to have the ability to liquefy mucus and reduce bacterial biofilms (reducing bacteria’s ability to stick to surfaces and each other). This means serrapeptase may be able to reduce phlegm buildup, nasal discharge, lung symptoms of cystic fibrosis and help other compounds fight bacteria. Additional research is needed to confirm these effects.

The standard dose for serrapeptase is 10-60mg.

Serrapeptase should be supplemented on an empty stomach, which is 30 minutes before a meal or two hours after a meal, three times a day. Most studies use 10mg of serrapeptase taken every eight hours.

More human evidence is needed to determine the optimal dose of serrapeptase. 10mg of serrapeptase is equal to approximately 20,000 enzymatic units.

The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (it excludes animal and in vitro studies) to tell you what effects serrapeptase has on your body, and how strong these effects are.

Grade	Level of Evidence [show legend]
	Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials
	Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled
	Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies
	Uncontrolled or observational studies only

Level of Evidence ? The amount of high quality evidence. The more evidence, the more we can trust the results.	Outcome	Magnitude of effect ? The direction and size of the supplement's impact on each outcome. Some supplements can have an increasing effect, others have a decreasing effect, and others have no effect.	Consistency of research results ? Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.	Notes
	Inflammation	Minor	High See all 4 studies	Appears to reduce swelling and inflammation following surgery or trauma, although to a lesser degree than corticosteroids. There is a lack of practical evidence for the claims behind serrapeptase (instead, studies tend to only look at post-surgery inflammation)
	Pain	Minor	High See all 5 studies	When a decrease in inflammation occurs post surgery, there appears to be a concomitant reduction in pain; it tends to hover around a 1 point reduction on a VAS scale (scale of 1-10).
	Mucus Production	Notable	Very High See all 4 studies	A somewhat notable decrease in mostly the viscosity of mucus (elasticity is somewhat unreliably decreased), due to the mucolytic properties of serrapeptase. This may be of use for both nasal discharge and lung sputum (cystic fibrosis)
	Breast Tenderness	Minor	- See study	A decrease in breast tenderness and soreness has been noted with serrapeptase treatment in one study.
	Edema	Minor	Very High See 2 studies	Related to the antiinflammatory effects, swelling and edema post surgery appear to be reduced.
	Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel	Minor	- See study	A decrease in symptoms has been noted, but the study was not structurally a good one; requires replication
	Symptoms of Superficial Thrombophlebitis	Minor	- See study	There appears to be a small decrease in symptoms, which is thought to be due to fibrinolytic properties of serrapeptase

Studies Excluded from Consideration

• Confounded with paracetamol^[1]