Now Foods Bromelain 2000 GDU

Now Foods Bromelain 2000 GDU is one of the highest natural potencies of this proteolytic (protein-digesting) enzyme available. While most enzymes are generally considered to be poorly absorbed, Now Foods Bromelain 2000 GDU is one of the most bioavailable of all enzymes and has been the subject of numerous studies worldwide. Although Now Foods Bromelain 2000 GDU is derived from pineapple, supplementation is necessary to achieve optimum levels of this enzyme. Encapsulated in Vcaps for 100% vegetarian formula.

• Natural Enzyme
• 2000 GDU
• Protein Digesting

Your Bromelain tablets are labeled as having a potency of 2000 gdu/gram, yet I see that the Bromelain in Item 2996, Plant Enzyme Complex, is labeled as FCC (PU) units. What is the difference and is there a conversion between the two?
Bromelain can be standardized on Milk Clot Units (MCU/mg), Casein Digestion Units (CDU/mg), Bromelain Tyrosine Units (BTU/ gram), Rorer units, and more. One FCC Papain Unit (PU), for example, is defined in this assay as that quantity of enzyme that liberates the equivalent of 1 µg (microgram) of tyrosine per hour under the conditions of the assay. This procedure is also used to determine the proteolytic activity of ficin and bromelain. The assay is based on a 60-min proteolytic hydrolysis of a casein substrate at pH 6.0 and 40° C. Soluble casein is then measured spectrophotometrically at 280nm. Different activity-measuring methods can use different protein substrates as well as methods. Since enzymes are specific to peptide bonds and whicht terminal end of an amino acid it will cleave, there typically will not be a conversion between measures unless both measures are performed. This is why conversion among different enzyme measures can be so difficult. In the case of the single ingredient formula, Bromelain at 2000 GDU/g would be equal to a 30,000,000 FCC PU/g potency.

NOW's Mission
The NOW mission is - To provide value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives. NOW Foods is an award-winning and highly respected manufacturer of vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements and natural foods.

In 1948, with the natural food and supplement industry in its infancy, entrepreneur Paul Richard paid $900 for the purchase of Fearn Soya Foods—a Chicago based manufacturer of grain and legume-based products. This began a six-decade legacy of providing health-seeking consumers with high-quality, affordable nutrition products.

History of NOW
In 1968, NOW Foods was founded under the belief that good health was not a luxury available only to the wealthy. For the past forty years, NOW has made it their life's work to offer health food and nutritional supplements of the highest quality, at prices that are fair and affordable to all those who seek them. Today, NOW Foods is one of the top-selling brands in health foods stores, an award-winning manufacturer, a respected advocate of the natural product industry, and a leader in the fields of nutritional science and methods development. And while NOW has grown considerably over the past four decades, one thing has never changed – NOW's commitment to providing products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.

NOW Commitments

• Customer Focused and Information Driven - NOW believes that their products, services, and the decisions they make should be primarily influenced by the desires and needs of NOW customers. The decisions that NOW makes should be based on accurate information and therefore NOW places a high value on knowledge and learning within their organization.
• Quality and Value Oriented - Acting in the best interest of NOW customers, NOW endeavors to produce the highest quality products at competitive prices. NOW's first priority is to maintain quality where it counts the most – in the products. NOW's exceptional cost-conscious team of employees then focuses their energies on driving costs down. Nurturing this competency of value drives NOW's ability to provide high quality products at the very best prices.
• Natural is Better - NOW is convinced that natural products are better than their synthetic counterparts and produce better results in human health. Therefore, wherever possible, NOW strives to provide products that contain natural ingredients because they are better for their customers.

NOW Science
NOW's experienced professional and technical staff formulates their products to be of the highest quality. NOW has a group of biochemists, chemists, nutritionists, and food technologists who review current science and nutritional parameters, and formulate our products to be effective for the intended use. NOW's structure/function claims are based on science for active ingredients, and on nutritional science for nutritional content. Serving sizes are based on doses from clinical studies and other published data. NOW's contemporary formulas are designed to meet the health and wellness needs of today’s consumers. NOW uses ingredients that have been tested for effectiveness in clinical trials and laboratory studies. The heart of NOW science is third party independent research. NOW investigates and review clinical studies and other lab studies conducted on their ingredients and their formulas. Best science is used to support best formulations which lead to best quality. NOW products are constantly being tested in clinical trials conducted at top universities and research centers around the country and in various parts of the world. NOW products are being tested to determine such things as effectiveness for joint support, quality of life for cancer patients, cardiovascular support, and athletic endurance. Effective products mean health and wellness benefits, which mean quality.

GMP Quality Assured
NOW’s GMP certification covers standard operating procedures, employee training, product specifications, expiration dating, vendor certifications and much more. Standard operating procedures include sampling and testing incoming materials according to NOW Foods specifications, inspecting manufacturing processes, and testing finished products to specifications. Tests include organoleptic evaluation (human senses such as sight, taste, smell), physical testing of tablets and capsules, chemical identity of ingredients, potency and contamination testing by the company’s in-house state-of-the-art analytical testing lab, as well as microbiological testing by NOW Foods’ in-house rapid analysis microbiological lab.