Trauma to your body causes injuries to your skin and the surrounding tissue, resulting in a bruise, which can swell and become tender and discolored. You can treat bruises in a variety of ways. Some people use natural remedies such as bromelain, an enzyme found in pineapples, to treat bruises, though its effectiveness has not been been proven in humans.
What Is Bromelain?
Bromelain is the name given to a product made from the juice and the stem of pineapples. Bromelain consists of a group of different proteolytic enzymes. Proteolytic enzymes are special proteins that work to break down other proteins. Some people take bromelain to help improve their digestion, but bromelain can also play an important role in healing. Bromelain can be taken orally, though it may also be applied to the skin as a topical treatment.
Oral Bromelain Supplements
Bromelain can be taken in tablet or capsule form. The effects of oral bromelain on bruises has not been studied in humans, but many people take bromelain to relieve the pain and swelling from arthritis. The effects of bromelain on musculoskeletal injuries, such as bruises, have been studied in animals. A study that examined how bromelain affects Achilles tendon crush injuries in rats, which was published in a 2011 issue of "Journal of Medicinal Food," found that rats treated with oral bromelain healed more quickly, suggesting that oral bromelain could potentially help humans recover more quickly from bruises.
Topical Bromelain
Bromelain can also be applied topically to parts of your body to help treat surface injuries. People recovering from burns can apply a cream that is 35 percent bromelain to areas injured by burns to help speed up the healing process. Although burn injuries are different than bruises, the fact that topical bromelain can help speed up healing when applied to injured parts of the body suggests that it could be used to treat bruises as well.
Considerations
Although studies analyzing the effects of bromelain on healing have found that it may have some benefits, more research needs to be done to determine if it's effective at treating bruises in humans. Side effects of bromelain include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and menstrual problems. Bromelain can also interfere with the absorption of different medications when taken orally, so talk to your doctor before taking bromelain supplements.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Bromelain
- "Journal of Medicinal Food"; A Comparative Study of the Effects of Bromelain and Fresh Pineapple Juice on the Early Phase of Healing in Acute Crush Achilles Tendon Injury; Ayoola I. Aiyegbusi, et al.; 2011
- "Pakistan Journal of Nutrition"; Therapeutic Application of Pineapple Protease (Bromelain): A Review; Bitange Nipa Tochi, et al.; 2008
