Bromelain Tincture & Alcohol-Free Extract

Bromelain is not a plant but a mixture of protein-splitting enzymes obtained from the pineapple, Ananas comosus, a terrestrial perennial of the bromeliad family, Bromeliaceae, native to the Parana and Paraguay river basins of South America and now grown throughout the tropics. The pineapple plant forms a rosette of long, stiff, spiny-edged leaves up to a meter long, from whose center rises a short stalk topped by a spike of violet flowers that fuse into the single juicy fruit. Bromelain is pressed from the fibrous stems and fruit; it is why fresh pineapple keeps gelatin from setting and tenderizes meat. We extract the dried powder.