You know how you can go through virtually a whole lifetime without hearing about something and then suddenly it’s on the lips of just about everyone you speak too? That’s bromelain for you. It’s been used for centuries by the peoples of South and Central America, now suddenly it’s become the go-to supplement for everything from indigestion to inflammation. As a dog nutritionist, I’ve been digging the dirt on bromelain for dogs. The following helps explain why I’ve recently started adding bromelain to the diet of my senior dog, specifically in his case to help protect his aging joints.

What is bromelain?

Bromelain is a protein-digesting enzyme (a proteolytic enzyme) extracted from the juice and the stem of the pineapple. Understanding that the pineapple had been used for centuries by the indigenous peoples in Central and South America to treat various medical conditions, German scientists first isolated bromelain from the pineapple in the 1890s. It was initially used to treat inflammation and swelling after surgery, but it’s uses were later extended to include reducing inflammation from infection and injuries along with numerous other health conditions.

While fruit bromelain and stem bromelain are prepared differently and have a different enzymatic composition, the term ‘bromelain’ generally refers to stem bromelain. Bromelain created from pineapple stems.

Bromelain for dogs

Since dogs can and do enjoy eating succulently delicious pineapple, there’s no reason to believe they cannot also benefit from the medicinal benefits of bromelain. And indeed they can. Dogs can benefit from bromelain for many of the same reasons as human beings. These include:

Arthritis
Allergies
Skin abrasions
Gut problems
Breathing issues
Heart disease
All inflammatory conditions

It appears that bromelain for dogs may even have cancer fighting properties and may even improve the absorption of antibiotics!

No toxicity issues

The good news about bromelain for dogs is that has no known toxicity issues. Bromelain is not toxic to dogs. There are no known side-effects with proper and sensible supplementation following the advice of a qualified dog nutritionist.

How to feed your dog bromelain

There are two ways of feeding your dog bromelain. Feed pineapple or use a supplement. While you can find many dog supplements containing bromelain, I’m not generally in favour of supplements of which bromelain forms only a small part. Particularly be wary of some of the most advertised brands whose products mainly contain synthetic ingredients. You might be better feeding your dog pineapple, despite the fact that its bromelain content might appear to be lower than some of the supplements.