(Image source from: The Indian Express)

From Pina colada - a sweet cocktail made with rum, coconut cream or coconut milk, and pineapple juice - to the delicious yogurts and fruit punches, pineapple adds a gusto of flavor to food. While it is among one of the most famous tropical fruits, new research has shown that this juicy delectation is extremely utile to speed up wound healing process.

The study, being carried out by Brazilian scientists indicates bromelain - an enzyme extract derived from the stems of pineapples and an earthy anti-inflammatory - can be used to speed up the healing process and as well aid post-surgery recovery.

For the study, experts infused bromelain from pineapples into mamocellulose that is produced by using bacteria in fruit waste and made an experimental bandage from it.

As per findings, the wounds were cured much quicker due to the proteolytic action of bromelain that removes the dead layer of the wound and thus, permits the oxygenation of the surface.

About Bromelain

Bromelain is an enzyme found in pineapple juice and pineapple stem. Besides having many medicinal properties, it helps the body produce substances that aid in fighting pain and swelling (inflammation). It besides comprises chemicals that impede the growing of tumor cells and slow blood clotting.

How does it work?

Bromelain has eight different chemicals that help to digest proteins, making it a proteolytic enzyme. Reportedly, the Native Americans used pineapple parts to dress and treat wounds, as it is believed that its enzymatic activity thins the blood, prevents the accumulation of plaque in the arteries and slows down the clumping of blood platelets.

Bromelain cut downs inflammation by slowing down the accumulation of kinins, another byproduct of inflammation.

However, the innovation is still in the primal phase of development.

By Sowmya Sangam