Guide
What is DigeZyme? A plain guide to digestive enzyme blends
DigeZyme is a trademarked blend of five microbial enzymes made by Sabinsa Corporation. Here's what each one does, how enzyme amounts are actually measured, and what the one trial on this specific blend covered.
DigeZyme is a trademarked blend of five microbial enzymes — alpha-amylase, neutral protease, lipase, cellulase and lactase — made by Sabinsa Corporation and used in many digestive-enzyme supplements. Each of the five targets a different part of food: starch, protein, fat, fiber and milk sugar. It's one ingredient in the wider digestive-enzyme category, not a replacement for what your body already makes.
What your body already makes, and what a supplement adds
Digestion starts before a supplement ever enters the picture. Salivary glands secrete amylase in the mouth; the stomach adds pepsin, a protein-digesting enzyme; the pancreas secretes its own amylase, lipase and several proteases (trypsin and chymotrypsin among them) into the small intestine; and the small intestine's own lining produces lactase. A digestive-enzyme supplement adds more of some of these same enzyme activities — from a microbial source rather than a human or animal one — alongside food, not instead of what the body already secretes.
What's actually in DigeZyme
According to its maker's published composition, DigeZyme is produced by fermenting strains of Aspergillus, Bacillus and Trichoderma, and it's described as stable across a range of pH and temperature conditions found in the digestive tract. That microbial, fermentation-based origin is also why it's marketed as vegetarian and non-animal-sourced: unlike some competing digestive-enzyme products, which use pancreatin (an animal-derived enzyme extract from pig pancreas), DigeZyme's enzymes come from fermented microorganisms, not livestock.
| Enzyme | Acts on | Common label unit |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha-amylase | Starch and other carbohydrates | DU (dextrinizing units) |
| Neutral protease | Protein | HUT |
| Lipase | Fat | LU or FIP |
| Cellulase | Plant cell-wall fiber (cellulose) | CU |
| Lactase | Lactose (milk sugar) | ALU |
Its maker also describes DigeZyme as having self-affirmed GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status in the United States — a manufacturer's own safety conclusion under the GRAS framework, not a separate FDA approval or evaluation of the finished supplement it ends up in.
Why labels use activity units instead of a plain milligram number
Enzymes aren't measured well by weight alone, because a milligram of a highly active enzyme preparation can do far more work than a milligram of a weak one. The Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) and US Pharmacopeia (USP) instead define standardized lab assays for each enzyme type, and a supplement label that reports DU, HUT, LU/FIP, CU or ALU alongside the enzyme name is telling you something a plain milligram figure can't. A label that lists "DigeZyme" or "digestive enzyme blend" as a single weight, with no individual enzyme amounts or units broken out, isn't giving you that information at all — more in how to choose a good digestive enzyme supplement.
Has this specific blend been studied?
Yes, in a limited way. One placebo-controlled trial tested DigeZyme itself, in adults with a specific diagnosed digestive symptom, not in a general healthy population. We go through that trial and what it did and didn't show in digestive enzymes: what the research does and doesn't show.
Digestive enzymes vs. probiotics
These get bundled together in a lot of product marketing, but they're mechanically different things. Digestive enzymes (like the five in DigeZyme) are proteins that break specific food molecules into smaller pieces during digestion, and they don't need to be alive to work. Probiotics are live microorganisms meant to take up residence in the gut and interact with the existing microbial community over time. A supplement that combines both is combining two different mechanisms, not two versions of the same thing.
Questions people ask
What are digestive enzymes?
Proteins that break large food molecules — starches, proteins, fats, fiber and milk sugar — into smaller pieces the body can absorb. The body makes its own in the mouth, stomach, pancreas and small intestine; a supplement like DigeZyme adds more of some of the same enzyme activities from a microbial source.
What do digestive enzymes do for the body?
Each enzyme type acts on one part of food: amylase on starch, protease on protein, lipase on fat, cellulase on plant fiber, lactase on milk sugar. Breaking these molecules down is a necessary step before the body can absorb the nutrients inside them.
Are digestive enzymes healthy or safe to take?
The one placebo-controlled trial of DigeZyme itself, run over 60 days, reported no product-related adverse events. That's a single, industry-run trial rather than a broad safety literature — see digestive enzyme side effects for what it and the wider case-report literature show.
What digestive enzymes does the pancreas produce?
The pancreas secretes its own amylase, lipase, and several protein-digesting enzymes (trypsin and chymotrypsin, among others) into the small intestine. People with a diagnosed condition that impairs this — exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, for example — are prescribed a different, FDA-regulated category of enzyme product, not an over-the-counter blend like this one; see who should not take digestive enzymes.
Can digestive enzymes help with acid reflux?
We haven't found a trial testing digestive enzyme supplementation specifically for acid reflux. The closest research tested a different symptom picture — see digestive enzymes: what the research does and doesn't show for exactly what was and wasn't studied.
What happens if you take digestive enzymes after eating instead of before?
No trial we've found isolates timing as a variable for a swallowed enzyme capsule. Mechanically, enzymes act on food that's physically present, so taking one after a meal has already been digested for a while gives it less to act on than taking it before or with food — but that's a reasoning-based answer, not a tested one. More in when is the best time to take digestive enzymes.
What's the difference between digestive enzymes and probiotics?
Digestive enzymes break food molecules apart during digestion and don't need to be alive to do it. Probiotics are live microorganisms intended to interact with the gut's existing microbial community over a longer timescale. They're marketed together often, but they work by different mechanisms.
Sources
- Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of a Multienzyme Complex in Patients with Functional Dyspepsia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study A 2018 placebo-controlled trial found that adults with functional dyspepsia who took DigeZyme (150 mg/day) for 60 days scored significantly better on several symptom questionnaires than those given a placebo, with no reported product-related side effects; the trial was run and funded by DigeZyme's own maker.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.