Digestive enzymes: what the research does and doesn't show

The evidence doesn't support digestive enzyme supplements as a general digestion booster for healthy people. The handful of controlled trials that exist tested specific enzyme blends in adults with a diagnosed digestive symptom, not the broad "supports digestion" population most marketing targets, and none has tested a supplement in people with no digestive complaint at all.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support digestive enzyme supplements, including DigeZyme, as something a generally healthy person should take to "support digestion," reduce everyday bloating, or aid weight loss — we found no trial testing any of those claims. It also doesn't support enzyme supplementation as a treatment for a diagnosed digestive disease: the trials below tested symptom scores in specific, narrow populations, and a supplement is not a substitute for medical evaluation of ongoing digestive symptoms.

What the trials found

A 2018 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial gave 40 adults with functional dyspepsia (a diagnosis of persistent upper-digestive discomfort with no identifiable structural cause) either DigeZyme itself, 50 mg three times a day (150 mg/day total), or a placebo, for 60 days. Across five separate validated symptom questionnaires, the DigeZyme group scored significantly better than placebo at every follow-up, and no product-related adverse events were reported. The trial's authors are employees of Sami Labs and Sabinsa Corporation, the companies that make and market DigeZyme — worth knowing when weighing how much confidence to put in an industry-run, industry-funded result, especially since it's the only clinical trial we've found on this specific blend.

A separate, older trial tested a different enzyme — exogenous lactase from the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, not the Aspergillus-derived lactase in DigeZyme — added directly to milk before 30 adults with lactose malabsorption and intolerance drank it. Adding the enzyme, either 5 minutes or 10 hours before drinking, significantly reduced breath hydrogen levels and symptom scores (bloating, pain, gas, diarrhea) compared with untreated milk. That's a real, positive result, but it tested a different enzyme source pre-treating a specific food, not a capsule swallowed alongside a meal — it doesn't tell us whether DigeZyme's own lactase content, taken as a capsule, does the same thing.

A 2024 laboratory study ran a different manufacturer's enzyme blend (DigeSEB Super, made by Advanced Enzyme Technologies, and funded and run by that company) through a simulated digestion model — test tubes and lab equipment standing in for a stomach and small intestine, not an actual person. The enzyme supplement sped up the breakdown of starch, protein and fat in that simulation. That's a mechanism finding, not a clinical one: it shows enzymes can do chemistry outside a human digestive tract, which nobody disputes, not that a person who takes them feels or digests differently. It also tested a different product from DigeZyme.

Study	Population & design	Dose / method	Result
2018 RCT	40 adults with functional dyspepsia	DigeZyme, 150 mg/day, 60 days	Improved symptom scores vs. placebo; industry-run
Crossover trial	30 adults with lactose malabsorption	Different lactase, added to milk before drinking	Reduced breath hydrogen and symptoms vs. untreated milk
2024 in-vitro study	Simulated digestion model, no human subjects	A different manufacturer's blend	Faster macronutrient breakdown in the simulation; industry-funded

What we found no trial for

Search demand for digestive enzymes is dominated by questions this literature doesn't answer: whether they help with everyday bloating, acid reflux, IBS-type symptoms, or weight loss in someone without a specific diagnosis. We haven't found a controlled trial testing any digestive-enzyme blend, including DigeZyme, against those outcomes in a general population. It's also worth knowing that DigeZyme's five enzymes don't include alpha-galactosidase, the enzyme most associated in the literature with reducing gas from beans and certain vegetables — so even on mechanistic grounds, this specific blend isn't built to address that particular complaint.

Questions people ask

Are digestive enzymes good for you?

For the specific, diagnosed situations tested above — functional dyspepsia and lactose intolerance — the trials found a benefit for the group given an enzyme versus placebo. For everyday use by someone without a diagnosed digestive symptom, we haven't found a trial establishing a benefit either way.

Do digestive enzymes help with bloating?

Not established by a trial we've found. The lactose-intolerance trial above measured bloating as one of several symptoms and found an improvement, but only in people with diagnosed lactose malabsorption drinking pre-treated milk — not bloating from another cause in a general population.

Can digestive enzymes help with IBS?

We haven't found a trial testing digestive enzyme supplementation, including DigeZyme, in people with IBS specifically. If IBS is a diagnosis you have or suspect, that's a conversation for a doctor rather than something to self-treat with an enzyme supplement.

Can digestive enzymes help with acid reflux?

We haven't found a trial testing this. Functional dyspepsia, the condition in the one DigeZyme trial above, overlaps with but isn't the same diagnosis as acid reflux, and the trial didn't report reflux symptoms as a separate measure.

Are digestive enzymes good for the liver?

We haven't found a trial connecting digestive enzyme supplementation to liver function. If you have liver disease, talk to a doctor before adding any supplement rather than using this as a reason to.

Do digestive enzymes help with weight loss?

No trial we've found has tested digestive enzyme supplementation, including DigeZyme, for weight loss. The two positive trials above measured digestive symptom scores in diagnosed populations, not body weight.

When to talk to a doctor

Ongoing bloating, reflux, diarrhea, or unexplained weight loss are worth raising with a doctor, especially if they're new, persistent, or getting worse — a digestive-enzyme supplement is not a treatment for a diagnosed digestive disease and isn't a substitute for that evaluation. See who should not take digestive enzymes for who should check with a doctor before trying one, and what is DigeZyme for what's actually in this blend.