ATC Group: A09A Digestives, incl. enzymes

Betaine is a methyl derivative of glycine first isolated from the juice of sugar beets. Betaine participates in the methionine cycle, which produces vital biomolecules including proteins, hormones, phospholipids, polyamines, and nutrients. Betaine is used as a dietary supplement and has a beneficial effect on the human health. The drug acts as a methyl group donor in the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine.

Potassium citrate is indicated for the management of renal tubular acidosis with calcium stones, hypocitraturic calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis of any etiology, uric acid lithiasis with or without calcium stones. When potassium citrate is given orally, the metabolism of absorbed citrate produces an alkaline load. The induced alkaline load in turn increases urinary pH and raises urinary citrate by augmenting citrate clearance without measurably altering ultrafilterable serum citrate. Thus, potassium citrate therapy appears to increase urinary citrate principally by modifying the renal handling of citrate, rather than by increasing the filtered load of citrate.

Glutamic acid is a non-essential aminoacid used in biosynthesis of proteins. Besides being a building block of proteins, glutamic acid plays a principal role in neural activation. Glutamate is also responsible for the umami (savory) flavor of certain foods. In medicine, glutamate is used as a metabolic supplemnet in patients undergoing coronary surgery.

Pancreatin when reaching the small intestine disintegrates (at pH>5.5) to release enzymes with lipolytic, amylolytic and proteolytic activity to ensure the digestion of fats, starches and proteins. The products of pancreatic digestion are then either absorbed directly, or following further hydrolysis by intestinal enzymes.

Protease is an trypsin that catalyzes (increases the rate of) proteolysis, the breakdown of proteins into smaller polypeptides or single amino acids. They do this by cleaving the peptide bonds within proteins by hydrolysis, a reaction where water breaks bonds.

Serrapeptase suppresses fibrinolytic activity and increased vascular permeability, suppresses edema of inflammation, strongly hydrolyzes bradykinin and cleaves fibrin and fibrinogen without affecting proteins.