Monograph: |
PAPAIN
DESCRIPTION
CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY
Papain, the proteolytic enzyme derived from the fruit of carica papaya, is a potent digestant of nonviable protein matter, but is harmless to viable tissue. It has the unique advantage of being active over a wide pH range, 3 to 12. Despite its recognized value as a digestive agent, papain is relatively ineffective when used alone as a debriding agent, primarily because it requires the presence of activators to exert its digestive function. Urea is combined with papain to provide two supplementary chemical actions: 1) to expose by solvent action the activators of papain (sulfhydryl groups) which are always present, but not necessarily accessible, in the nonviable tissue or debris of lesions, and 2) to denature the nonviable protein matter in lesions and thereby render it more susceptible to enzymatic digestion. In pharmacologic studies involving digestion of beef powder, Miller 1 showed that the combination of papain and urea produced twice as much digestion as papain alone.
INDICATIONS AND USES
IT IS USED AS DIGESTIVE ENZYME IN CONDITIONS OF INDIGESTION AND FLATULENCE.
USED AS DEBRIDING AGENT ALONG WITH UREA IN SKIN OINT AND CREAMS.
CONTRAINDICATIONS
None known.
PRECAUTIONS
NONE
ADVERSE REACTIONS
NONE KNOWN
DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
30 MG β 100 MG TDS/QID
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