Serrapeptase and Sinusitis

Due to its inflammatory properties, serrapeptase has been shown in clinical studies to benefit chronic sinusitis sufferers. In this condition, the mucus in patients' nasal cavities is thickened and hypersecreted. This thickening causes mucus to be expelled less frequently. Japanese researchers evaluated the effects of serratiopeptidase (30 mg/day orally for four weeks) on the elasticity and viscosity of the nasal mucus in adult patients with chronic sinusitis. Serratiopeptidase reduced the viscosity of the mucus, improving the elimination of bronchopulmonary secretions.(23)

Other clinical trials support serrapeptase's ability to relieve the problems associated with chronic sinusitis. In one study, 140 patients with acute or chronic ear, nose and throat pathologies were evaluated with either a placebo or the active serratia peptidase. Patients taking the serrapeptase experienced a significant reduction in severity of pain, amount of secretion, purulence of secretions, difficulty in swallowing, nasal dysphonia, nasal obstruction, anosmia, and body temperature after three to four days and at the end of treatment. Patients suffering from laryngitis, catarrhal rhinopharyngitis and sinusitis who were treated with serrapeptase experienced a significant and rapid improvement of symptoms after 3-4 days. Physicians assessed efficacy of treatment as excellent or good for 97.3 percent of patients treated with serrapeptase compared with only 21.9 percent of those treated with a placebo.(24)

Respiratory diseases are characterized by increased production of a more dense mucus modified in viscosity and elasticity. Traditionally, in respiratory diseases, muco-active drugs are prescribed to reestablish the physicochemical characteristics of the mucus in order to restore respiratory function. Some of these drugs, however, cause a functional depletion of mucus, whereas Serrapeptase alters the elasticity of mucus without depleting it.(25,10)

A powerful agent by itself, serrapeptase teamed with antibiotics delivers increased concentrations of the antimicrobial agent to the site of the infection. Bacteria often endure a process called biofilm formation, which results in resistance to antimicrobial agents. In an attempt to prevent this bacterial immunity, researchers have experimented with various means of inhibiting biofilm-embedded bacteria. Their search may have ended with serrapeptase. One study conducted by Italian researchers suggests that proteolytic enzymes could significantly enhance the activities of antibiotics against biofilms. Antibiotic susceptibility tests showed that serratiopeptidase greatly enhances the activity of the antibiotic, ofloxacin, and that it can inhibit biofilm formation.(28)

Another double-blind randomized study evaluated the effects of administering the antibiotic cephalexin in conjunction with serrapeptase or a placebo to 93 patients suffering from either perennial rhinitis, chronic rhinitis with sinusitis or chronic relapsing bronchitis. The serratia peptidase treated group experienced significant improvement in rhinorrhea, nasal stuffiness, coryza and improvement of the para-nasal sinus shadows.(24)

Researchers witnessed equally impressive results in the treatment of infections in lung cancer patients undergoing thoracotomy. Serrapeptase and cefotiam, an antibiotic with a broad spectrum of activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms, were administered to 35 thoracotomy patients with lung cancer. The patients were divided into two groups. A single dose of cefotiam was administered to the 17 subjects in Group I. The 18 subjects in Group II received a combination of Cefotiam and serrapeptase. The level of the antibiotic in the tissues versus the blood was significantly higher in the serrapeptase group than the single dose group.(22)