Our Members Asked:
Since the COVID-19 drug, Paxlovid, works by blocking a protease enzyme, should I be concerned about taking digestive enzymes that contain proteases?

Answer:
No, you should not be concerned about digestive enzyme supplements, but be aware that St. John's wort and supplements containing colchicine might interact with Paxlovid.
The proteases produced by your body and found in digestive enzyme supplements, which help digest protein in foods, are different from the viral protease (3CL) that is needed by coronaviruses to replicate (Zhang, Science 2020) and is the target of the antiviral protease-inhibitor drug Paxlovid.
Taking a supplement that contains proteases to digest food is not likely to affect the course of COVID-19 infection or the activity of antiviral drugs.
For more details about digestive enzyme supplements, including the types of enzymes in these supplements, conditions for which they've been used, and safety concerns, see our Digestive Enzyme Supplements Review, which includes our Top Pick among digestive enzyme supplements.
Join today to unlock all member benefits including full access to all CL Answers and over 1,300 reviews.
Join NowAlready a member? Sign In Here.
Join now at www.consumerlab.com/join/
Submit your comment
This feature is restricted to active members.
Join now to add comments and get all member benefits, including over 1,300 reviews.
Join NowAlready a member? Sign in here.
Agree to Comment Terms
Please abide by the following:
For your privacy, only your first name (from your account) followed by a random number will appear with your comment. Your last name and email address will not be displayed.
Your comment has been submitted
We will review your comment before it is posted.