Supplement

Bromelain

Bromelain is a mix of protein-digesting enzymes found in pineapple, and it appears to calm inflammation and swelling in tissues. People mostly look at it for acute knee pain, where the evidence is moderate, and a small study of 77 people found inflammation went down; a separate small trial found nasal congestion improved in seasonal allergies. Both findings come from small studies, so they are early signs rather than firm answers.

Sources: PMID 15796206

Updated 30 September 2026
How we grade
5 studies cited

Best evidence: Grade C
Conditions studied: 5
Outcomes: 7
Graded outcomes: 0020

Evidence by condition

Strong
Moderate
Limited
Very limited

5 conditions

Allergic Rhinitis (Seasonal Allergies / Hay Fever)

Allergic Rhinitis (Seasonal Allergies / Hay Fever): outcomes studied for Bromelain
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Nasal Congestion Small Improvement	Improves (the measure goes up)	Small effect	1 study	116 people
Studies that measured nasal congestion Therapeutic use, efficiency and safety of the proteolytic pineapple enzyme Bromelain-POS in children with acute sinusitis in GermanyIn Vivo · PMID 15796206

Acute Nonspecific Knee Pain

Acute Nonspecific Knee Pain: outcomes studied for Bromelain
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People
	Inflammation Small Decrease	Improves (the measure goes down)	Small effect		77 people
	Muscle Soreness	Changes; see studies		2 studies	77 people
Studies that measured muscle soreness Bromelain reduces mild acute knee pain and improves well-being in a dose-dependent fashion in an open study of otherwise healthy adultsPhytomedicine · PMID 12587686 Preliminary comparison of bromelain and Ibuprofen for delayed onset muscle soreness managementClin J Sport Med · PMID 12466693
	Subjective Well-Being	Improves (the measure goes up)			77 people

Muscle Recovery

Muscle Soreness: improves

Muscle Recovery: outcomes studied for Bromelain
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Muscle Soreness Improvement	Improves (the measure goes down)		2 studies	39 people
Studies that measured muscle soreness Bromelain reduces mild acute knee pain and improves well-being in a dose-dependent fashion in an open study of otherwise healthy adultsPhytomedicine · PMID 12587686 Preliminary comparison of bromelain and Ibuprofen for delayed onset muscle soreness managementClin J Sport Med · PMID 12466693

Osteoarthritis (OA)

Osteoarthritis Symptoms: improves

Osteoarthritis (OA): outcomes studied for Bromelain
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Osteoarthritis Symptoms Improvement	Improves (the measure goes down)		1 study	47 people
Studies that measured osteoarthritis symptoms Bromelain as an adjunctive treatment for moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized placebo-controlled pilot studyQJM · PMID 17121765

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes Incidence: changes; see studies

Type 1 Diabetes: outcomes studied for Bromelain
Grade	Outcome	Effect	Size	Studies	People	Studies list
	Type 1 Diabetes Incidence	Changes; see studies		1 study	20 people
Studies that measured type 1 diabetes incidence Effect of combined oral proteases and flavonoid treatment in subjects at risk of Type 1 diabetesDiabet Med · PMID 20002490

What the published studies found

1 automated reading

Automated reading of the published studies (Decosa evidence engine), for outcomes Dr. Grey has not graded yet. It is not a Dr. Grey grade and does not change one. How it is read

Psoriasis
The search of the published studies found none on Bromelain and psoriasis that could be read, so there is no finding to report either way.
Automated reading of the published studies (Decosa evidence engine), run 30 Sep 2026. It reads abstracts, can miss studies, and a repeat run can differ.

Key findings

Nasal CongestionAllergic Rhinitis (Seasonal Allergies / Hay Fever)Improves (the measure goes up)
InflammationAcute Nonspecific Knee PainImproves (the measure goes down)

Shop Bromelain

Third-party tested Bromelain products. The evidence above is limited, so read it before you buy.

Grade C

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Studies cited

5 studies from PubMed

Bromelain reduces mild acute knee pain and improves well-being in a dose-dependent fashion in an open study of otherwise healthy adultsPhytomedicine · PMID 12587686
Bromelain as an adjunctive treatment for moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized placebo-controlled pilot studyQJM · PMID 17121765
Therapeutic use, efficiency and safety of the proteolytic pineapple enzyme Bromelain-POS in children with acute sinusitis in GermanyIn Vivo · PMID 15796206
Preliminary comparison of bromelain and Ibuprofen for delayed onset muscle soreness managementClin J Sport Med · PMID 12466693
Effect of combined oral proteases and flavonoid treatment in subjects at risk of Type 1 diabetesDiabet Med · PMID 20002490