Much of the clinical research on Serramend has focused on its effects in treating respiratory diseases, and numerous studies have demonstrated its effectiveness. While medications used to treat respiratory diseases often deplete mucus, this enzyme thins mucus to improve its elimination without depleting it.
Serramend is widely used in Japan to treat respiratory disease; a 2003 study measured the effect of the enzyme on sputum properties and symptoms in patients with chronic airway disease. After taking 30mg of Serramend daily for four weeks, fifteen patients with chronic airway diseases showed significant beneficial effects compared to a control group of fourteen patients not receiving the enzyme, including significant decreases in coughing, expectoration, as well as sputum weight, viscosity, elasticity and neutrophil content. (The mean mucociliary transportability index increased from 13.3+/- 1.8 to 24.4 =/- 2.5; P = 0.0103.)Researchers concluded this unique enzyme “may exert a beneficial effect on mucus clearance by reducing neutrophil numbers and altering the viscoelasticity of sputum in patients with chronic airway diseases.1In a 1988 Japanese study, adult patients with chronic rhinitis taking 30mg of Serramend daily for four weeks showed decreased mucus viscosity and improved elimination of lung secretions. Researchers concluded that supplementation reduced the viscosity and improved elimination of nasal mucus.2Researchers in Italy documented the benefits of using Serramend in treating a variety of chronic, inflammatory ear, nose and throat conditions. In a 1990 double-blind study of 193 patients recruited from clinics throughout Italy, patients taking 5mg three times daily for a week experienced a significant reduction in symptoms in three days. The physicians’ assessments of the effectiveness of treatment were excellent or good for 97.3% of patients treated with the enzyme, compared to only 21.9% of those treated with placebo. Patients with laryngitis, catarrhal rhinopharyngitis and sinusitis showed particularly rapid improvement. Researchers concluded that it ‘has antiinflammatory, anti-edemic and fibrinolytic activity and acts rapidly on localized inflammation.3
Nakamura S, Hashimoto Y, Midami M, Yamanaka E, Soma T, Hino M, Azuma A, Kudoh S., “Effect of the proteolytic enzyme serrapeptase in patients with chronic airway disease,” Respirology 2003; 8: 316-320.Majima Y, Inagaki M, Hirata K, Takeuchi K, Morishita A, Sakakura Y. “The effect of an orally administered proteolytic enzyme on the elasticity and viscosity of nasal mucus.” Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 1988; 244(6):355-9.Mazzone A, Catalani M, Costanzo M, Drusian A, Mandoli A, Russo S, Guarini E, Vesperini G. “Evaluation of Serratia peptidase in acute or chronic inflammation of otorhino-laryngology pathology: A multicentre, double-blind, randomized trial versus placebo.” J Int Med Res 1990; 18:379- 388.