Natra - BROMnac (Immune Support)

Product Notes:

Antioxidant/Digestive Aid

You may have heard about the phenomenal anti-aging compound GlyNAC, but that synergistic combination is not the only 'bromance' between NAC and another natural ingredient creating a buzz, of late.

Another is the pairing of N-Acetylcysteine (a supplementary form of cysteine, an amino acid that's present in certain foods and which our own bodies can produce some of, as well) with Bromelain (a digestive enzyme sourced from pineapple stems), to produce something that's better at breaking down mucin (the main component of mucus) than either ingredient alone.

One pharmaceutical version of that, BromAC®, is being developed by an Australian company to be an adjunct to chemotherapy, since it can dissolve the mucin appearing on the outer layer of certain tumors. It or a similar combination has also been found to facilitate antibiotics' effects on severe ear infections, and on the 'biofilms' that can grow on prosthetic mesh inserted in hernia operations. It's also being actively investigated as a means of inactivating certain viruses and/or suppressing the proliferation of spike proteins related to certain viral infections.

This version, BROMnac, which is licensed to a Canadian company with about 30 years of experience in researching and developing and manufacturing natural health products, is both a different ratio (equal parts of each, rather than four times as much NAC) and format (oral capsules, rather than an IV solution or a nasal spray), than BromAc, however.

Bromelain

Bromelain is principally known as a "proteolytic" digestive enzyme, which breaks proteins down into smaller units (either individual amino acids or polypeptide clusters of them). When taken with a protein-containing meal, it remains largely confined to the GI tract, and can help you absorb more nutrients and avoid gas or bloating, before being broken down into amino acids itself. But if it's used topically or is taken on an empty stomach, it can also help reduce inflammation and break down dead tissue around bruises or wounds in other parts of the body, among other things.

NAC

NAC is principally known as an antioxidant, both in its own right (by reacting with free radicals and interacting with reactive oxygen species) and as a precursor to our bodies' "master antioxidant," Glutathione. It's also a detoxification agent that can bind with and help remove certain heavy metals. Historically, it's mainly been used to protect the liver and kidneys from acetaminophen overdoses, and since it also helps thin out mucus, it's also been widely used for upper respiratory conditions. But it's also being studied for an increasing number of other applications, now, including for the digestive system.

NAC has been found to help treat H. pylori infections, and it may help repair the intestinal lining, which can be damaged by colitis or IBS. (As Lee and Kang (2019) note, it "improves mucosal function by reducing inflammation, alleviating oxidative stress, and ameliorating intestinal tissue damage by interacting with several intestinal cell signalling pathways, such as EGFR, TLR4, apoptosis, and tight junction signalling.")