Introduction: Bromelain belongs to the cysteine protease endopeptidase class of enzymes isolated from the stem and fruit tissue component of Ananas comosus. The commercial and translational therapeutic potential of bromelain is ever increasing due to its augmented stability, easier purification, and salubrious pan-cancer effects.
Areas covered: This paper presents the current state of knowledge about the isolation methods of bromelain, its safety, efficacy and tolerability. In addition, bromelains' role in eliciting pharmacological effects and its healing ability to mitigate cancer side effects based on accumulated in vitro, in vivo, and clinical evidence is relatively considerable.
Expert opinion: Identification of molecular targets and crucial signalling pathways that bromelain regulates suggest it genuinely prospects for combating cancer and mitigation of chemotherapy or radiotherapy mediated side effects. Further research on the development of bromelain-entrapped drug delivery systems for augmented enzyme stability, processing ability and translational potential against cancer can be beneficial.
Keywords: Cysteine protease; anticancer; nuclear factor-kappa B; pineapple; stem bromelain.