<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

     I've received 12 replies to this. I've included some excerpts from
     these, but it's no miracle cure !.

     Papain does indeed help digest foods

     supplements are not regulated by the FDA, so they can make claims that
     aren't scientifically backed.  I wouldn't trust that claim

     Papain and other digestive enzymes, and it did help!    Nothing like
     going GF however.

     I haven't seen such a ridiculous claim in ages... have to admit, it
     made me laugh, and frightened me at the same time, to think that
     somebody would put forth such a dangerous statement.

     Papian is an enzyme that is good for digesting protein.

     my mother who has DH as well as celiac  reacts severely to papain and
     papaya juice.

     I haven't heard of this before, but it sounds like complete nonsense
     to me.

     I have come across claims of papain as, not exactly a cure, but it
     helps ease the symptoms. It also aids in digestion.

     Papain is also used to marinate and tenderize meat!

     Thanks to Donn Wiss  - [log in to unmask] for a very informative
     mail as this topic has cropped up before on the list.

     Some have found that papain does help ingest gluten, BUT it seems to
     require the consumption of lots of papain and if any gluten does slip
     past then it's back to gut damage.

     This mail contained the following from From: Joseph Murray, M.D.

     If my memory is correct the reference to papain digestion of gluten
     was in vitro (in a test tube) and then the digested substance was
     given to 2-3 celiac patients who did not have an obvious symptom
     response. Not an acceptable basis for trusting your health to. I will
     attempt to refind the original article in our library basement.

     Again from Don Wiss mail :

     The authors confirmed an earlier report that long PREdigestion (42
     hours) of gluten with a huge excess of crude papain would make it
     non-toxic when ingested by a celiac.  They showed that pure papain did
     not detoxify gluten and suggested that detoxification was brought about
     by an enzyme, a contaminant in crude papain, that released ammonia from
     gluten.  This was one of the early bits of suggestive evidence that
     glutamine-containing peptide sequences were important in accounting for
     gliadin toxicity in celiacs.  Since the authors indicated that the
     detoxifying enzyme was both inactive and unstable in the highly acid
     conditions existing in the stomach, there is no way that papain
     ingestion will permit celiacs to eat gluten-containing food.