Papain is a natural cysteine proteolytic enzyme present in mountain papaya (Vasconcellea cundinamarcensis) and papaya (Carica papaya). It is native to Latin America and is also called as papaya proteinase I. It is used to tenderize meat eaten as it breaks down tough meat fibers. Papain is an active component in powder form for meat tenderizers and has a huge demand in the global market. Papain also used in chemo-mechanical dental caries removal gel known as Papacarie, as a tooth whitener in mint sweets and toothpaste, to clean up dead tissue in chronic wounds, as a component of many enzymatic debriding preparations, and cell dissociation in cell culture preparations. The end-use industries of the papain include leather, food & beverages, detergents, cosmetic, tanning, optical, photographic, textile, and pharmaceutical. The North America papain market accounts for relatively high revenue share, followed by Western Europe papain market over the forecast period, attributed to relatively strong demand for papain and broad availability of raw material in the regions.
Global papain market is segmented by end-use industry and by region. By end-use industry, the global papain market is sub-segmented as food & beverages, cosmetic, textile, pharmaceutical, other industries such as detergents, tanning, optical, photographic, etc. Among these, the pharmaceutical segment is expected to contribute to the significant revenue share with a relatively high growth rate over the forecast period in global papain market. A pharmaceutical segment follows food & beverages segment with a relatively high growth rate concerning both value and volume in the global papain market.
Increasing consumer needs for soft textured meat products for use is anticipated to escalate the market demand for papain on a global level. Papain in powdered or liquids forms are extensively used in the meat industry. Increasing health awareness among consumers have a positive impact on natural proteolytic enzyme such as papain. These proteolytic enzymes are widely used in meat industry to tenderize or soften the meat fibres.