Enzyme Blend or Enzymes Gold?

Two formulas, and the difference is not simply that one is stronger. Gold carries substantially more of some enzymes, the same amount of others, and less of one.

Enzyme Enzyme Blend Enzymes Gold Acts on
Bromelain 50,000 FCC PU 500,000 FCC PU Protein
Lipase 150 FCC LU 1,500 FCC LU Fats
Protease 12,500 FCC HUT
one protease 		40,000 FCC HUT + 80 FCC SAP
three proteases 		Protein
Alpha-galactosidase 260 FCC GalU 400 FCC GalU Oligosaccharides
Alpha-amylase 5,000 FCC DU 5,000 FCC DU Starches
Lactase 3,000 FCC ALU 3,000 FCC ALU Lactose
Cellulase 400 FCC CU 275 FCC CU Plant fibre
Total enzymes 7 9

Identical on amylase and lactase. Substantially higher on protease, lipase and bromelain. Lower on cellulase — so if cellulase activity is what matters to you, the standard Blend has more of it.

Milligrams tell you weight. FCC units tell you activity.

This is the part most enzyme labels leave out.

Two capsules can contain the same milligrams of protease and differ several-fold in measured activity, because activity depends on the enzyme's potency rather than its mass. A label giving only milligrams is telling you how much powder is in the capsule, not what it does.

FCC stands for Food Chemicals Codex — the standardised assay methods used to measure enzyme activity. Each class has its own unit: DU for amylase, HUT for protease, LU for lipase, ALU for lactase, CU for cellulase, GalU for alpha-galactosidase, PU for bromelain. We publish all of them for both formulas.

Why Gold has three proteases

Enzymes have a pH at which they are most active, and the digestive tract is not one environment — it runs from strongly acidic in the stomach to near-neutral further along.

The numbers in Protease 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 refer to those pH optima. Including three rather than one gives Gold protease activity across a wider pH range instead of a single band. Bromelain, a protease derived from pineapple, is a fourth protein-acting enzyme alongside them.

One point worth being precise about

Alpha-galactosidase is a carbohydrase, not a protease. It acts on oligosaccharides — the complex carbohydrates found in beans, pulses, lentils and brassicas — which is why it is of particular interest to anyone eating large amounts of plant fibre.

Shared by both formulas

  • Enzyme-only. No herbs, no vitamins, no bacteria.
  • Plant-derived, produced by solid-state fermentation from a vegetarian Aspergillus source. No animal enzymes.
  • No refrigeration required. Unlike live bacteria, these are shelf-stable at room temperature.
  • No enteric coating — tested at 100% survival in gastric solution, so no coating is needed.
  • Heat sensitive. If you open a capsule onto food, the food should not be hot.
  • Gluten free and dairy free. No betaine HCl. Non-GMO.

Browse the digestive enzymes range →

Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied, balanced diet or a healthy lifestyle.