serrapeptase

[badger]

has anyone taken this for pain/inflammation? has it worked for you?

[jobob]

This thread caught my eye because from the name it's likely an enzyme (the "ase" in the name).
I work in the biophama field and I've never heard of it so it likely never went through any sort of clinical trial.

So as always, Google is my friend. I brought up a Wikipedia entry which says, in part:

Serratiopeptidase (Serratia E-15 protease, also known as serralysin, serratiapeptase, serratia peptidase, serratio peptidase, or serrapeptidase) is a proteolytic enzyme (protease) produced by enterobacterium Serratia sp. E-15.
...

Claims of anti-inflammatory benefits
Some alternative medicine proponents claim that serratiopeptidase is beneficial for pain and inflammation but there is no compelling evidence. Online medical journal Bandolier (specializing in Evidence-based thinking about healthcare) published an article (in about 2001) in response to a reader's enquiry about serratiopeptidase. After searching PubMed and the Cochrane Library "to see if there are any randomised, controlled trials", the article stated that the "evidence on serratiopeptidase being effective for anything is not based on a firm foundation of clinical trials."

The search found 34 publications in the medical databases covered, that addressed the efficacy of serratiopeptidase, of which several were found to be animal experiments, personal letters, uncontrolled trials or those with inadequate or nonexistent randomisation. The article warned against ignoring safety issues with use of biological agents. No studies were found to have been conducted on the efficacy of serratiopeptidase as treatment for back pain, heart attack, stroke, or asthma. Of the 10 medical conditions with randomized-evidence studies on file in connection with serratiopeptidase, trial quality was described as "generally poor".

So there here you have it.
In My Humble Opinion it would be foolish to try it.

[badger]

yeah, I saw that on wikipedia as well. Which surprised me, because a chiropractor/acupuncturist recommends it to control inflammation and pain.

I doubt it would be "foolish" to try. I did try a bottle of it a couple of years ago but I didn't feel any noticeable effect from it. As I'm feeling some normal aches and pains of getting older, I wanted to know if there was anyone else out there who have tried it and had favourable results.