Several studies, both animal and human, indicate bromelain might have some antimetastatic ability. In doses of over 1000 mg daily, bromelain has been combined with chemotherapeutic agents such as 5-FU and vincristine, resulting in tumor regression. Bromelain can induce cytokine production in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. 15 A non-proteolytic component of bromelain is responsible for this effect. This component, referred to as escharase, has no hydrolytic enzyme activity against normal protein substrates or various glycosaminoglycan substrates, and its activity varies greatly from preparation to preparation.
Antibiotic potentiation is one of the primary uses of bromelain in several foreign countries.
In humans, some undetermined activity of bromelain has been documented to increase blood and urine levels of antibiotics. The combination of ox bile, pancreatin, and bromelain is effective in lowering stool fat excretion in patients with pancreatic steatorrhoea and resulting in a symptomatic improvement in pain, flatulence and stool frequency. 24 Bromelain has been reported to heal gastric ulcers in experimental animals. In an extensive study of the effect of bromelain on the gastric mucosa, it was found that bromelain increased the uptake of radioactive sulfur by 50 percent and glucosamine by 30-90 percent. Increased uptake of these substances may allow the gastric mucosa to heal more rapidly.