Blood products immunomodulators

The studies mentioned above indicate that bromelain has a certain cytotoxic potential. It remains an open question whether the observed antineoplastic effects of bromelain preparations reside in the proteolytic enzyme or in some or more other components of the mixture. Before the work of Maurer et al. [104] and of Batkin et al. [105], the antitumor activity of bromelain was explained primarily by its fibrinolytic and platelet aggregation inhibitory activity, which is believed to interfere with the fibrin and coagulation features of tumor cells [2], More recently, Desser and Rehberger [107] demonstrated that bromelain stimulates the production of alpha tumor necrosis factor in human peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures in a time-dependent manner. Immunomodulation, especially the release of cytokines, is believed to be responsible for the possible therapeutic potential of bromelain. However, further experimental evidence is necessary, first, to prove the antineoplastic action of the proteolytic enzyme, and second, to demonstrate that bromelain in vivo is a valuable therapeutic agent in humans. 

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