The digestive enzymes market consists of sale of digestive enzymes and related services used to ease up the digestion of food in stomach. Digestive enzymes are enzymes in the digestive system that break large molecules into smaller digestible molecules to be absorbed by the body. The digestive enzymes market commercially provides these enzymes as dietary supplements or drugs to be taken orally when the body fails to produce enough enzymes naturally for the digestion of fats, proteins and carbohydrates.
The main types of digestive enzymes are carbohydrates, protease, lipase and other enzyme types. Lipase is a protein produced by the pancreas; a small organ located near the stomach that aids in fat digestion. The enzymes are originated from animal, fungi, microbial, and plant that are used for indigestion, chronic pancreatitis, irritable bowel syndrome and other applications. The various distribution channel include retail stores and online stores.
The global digestive enzymes market size is expected to grow from $0.75 billion in 2021 to $0.82 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2%. The growth in the market is mainly due to the companies resuming their operations and adapting to the new normal while recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The digestive enzymes market is expected to reach $1.17 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 9.3%.
The rising prevalence of gastrointestinal disorder among different age groups drives the growth of the digestive enzymes market. Gastrointestinal disorders include disorders in the gastrointestinal tract starting from mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus caused due to lack of digestive enzymes. The gastrointestinal disorders require the digestive enzymes to be taken orally as a dietary supplement or as a drug. The increased rates of gastrointestinal disorders are linked to smoking, diet and genetics, sanitation, increased use of antibiotics and the changing environmental factors due to industrialization and urbanization. According to the American Gastroenterological Association’s survey published in April 2020 on worldwide prevalence and burden of functional gastrointestinal disorder, among 73,076 adult respondents, about 40.3% people met diagnostic criteria for at least 1 functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). FGID were more prevalent among women than men. A large-scale multinational study found that more than 40% of population is having FGIDs across the globe. Therefore, the increase in the prevalence of digestive diseases contributes to the growth of the market.
The potential side effects of digestive enzyme supplements and drugs restrain the growth of digestive enzymes market. Continuous intake of digestive enzyme increases dependency on the digestive enzymes resulting in weaker digestive system over time. The weakened digestive system leads to digestive distress, gas, nausea, bloating, decreased stomach acid and allergic reactions accompanied with diarrhoea, and vomiting. For instance, digestive enzyme bromelain causes thinning of the blood and increases the risk of excess bleeding. The thinning of the blood is the result of the anti-platelet activity caused by the drug. Thus, the side effects caused by the excess and continuous intake of digestive enzymes negatively impacts the growth of the digestive enzyme market.
The companies in digestive enzymes market are investing towards developing customized digestive enzymes. These customized digestive enzymes are condition-specific enzymes to support digestion for digestive sensitive patients and may contain multiple enzymes in the same product. The companies involved in manufacturing digestive enzymes are developing customized digestive enzymes to ease the digestion of different types of food. For instance, Sabinsa, a USA based provider of herbal extracts, cosmeceuticals, minerals, dietary supplements, formulated DigeZyme. DigeZyme is a multi-enzyme complex comprising of five different enzymes, namely, cellulase, lactase, amylase, lipase, and protease. It is widely used by the people who have difficulty in digesting carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, respectively. The companies are increasingly investing towards developing customized digestive enzymes.
In January 2020, Nestlé, a Switzerland based food and drink processing corporation, entered into an asset purchase agreement with Allergan, an Ireland based pharmaceutical company that acquires, develops, and markets brand name drugs, to acquire Zenpep for an amount undisclosed. Through the acquisition Nestle aims to expand its medical nutrition portfolio by including Zenpep product to support food ingestion, digestion and absorption. Zenpep is a medication for people who cannot digest food properly due to the lack of digestive enzymes.
Major players in the digestive enzymes market are Garden of Life, Biotics Research Corporation, Klaire Laboratories, Abbott Nutrition, AbbVie Inc., Allergan PLC, Johnson & Johnson Inc. Amway Corporation, Food State Inc., Matsun Nutrition, Metagenics Inc., Twinlab Corporation, Food State Inc., AST Enzymes, VEMO 99 OOD, Advanced Vital Enzymes Pvt. Ltd., Zeus Biotech Limited, Vox Nutrition Inc., Enzyme Bioscience Pvt. Ltd., Metagenics, XYMOGEN Inc., Douglas Laboratories, Thorne Research, Integrative Therapeutics LLC, Pure Encapsulations, Ortho Molecular Products Inc., Designs for Health Inc., Master Supplements Inc., and Proteozymes.
North America was the largest region in the digestive enzymes market in 2021. The Middle East is expected to be the fargest growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the digestive enzymes market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.
The countries covered in the digestive enzymes market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA.
The global digestive enzymes market is segmented -
1) By Enzyme Type: Carbohydrates, Protease, Lipase, Other Enzyme Types
2) By Origin: Animal, Fungi, Microbial, Plant
3) By Application: Indigestion, Chronic Pancreatitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Other Applications
4) By Distribution Channel: Retail Stores, Online Stores