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Candex


Candex is a dietary supplement manufactured by Pure Essence Laboratories. It is marketed as an enzymatic remedy to treat the yeast infection candida. Having the status of a dietary supplement, its efficiency has not been proven in scientifically controlled and peer-reviewed trials. Similar formulas exist, such as Candigest.

Candex contains the fibre digesting enzymes, cellulase and hemicellulase. The manufacturer claims because yeast cell walls are built mainly of fibre, which is mostly made of the complex carbohydrate, cellulose, cellulase and hemicellulase are capable of killing yeast.

However, a review of the scientific literature suggests that this mechanism of action is unlikely to be true. For while plant cell walls are made predominantly of cellulose, yeast cell walls are not (yeast are classified as fungi). For example, in the article, "Synthesis of the yeast cell wall and its regulation" in the Annual Review of Biochemistry, there is mention of many other complex carbohydrates found in yeast cell walls, but there is no mention of cellulose nor is cellulose mentioned as a cell wall component in candida albicans, the yeast strain most frequently associated with human fungal infections. Indeed, scientists have even modified yeast cells so they can make their own cellulases. This allows the modified yeast to ferment widely available plant material, which is made mostly of cellulose, and turn plant cellulose into alcohol for biofuels (cellulosic ethanol). One scientific article even called yeast an "ideal host strain" for producing cellulases. This is consistent with cellulase not being toxic to yeast and no mention was made of any toxic effect of cellulases on the modified yeast.

Furthermore, while many internet sites claim that cellulase enzymes might degrade the chitin found in yeast cell walls, once again no evidence is presented for this. Enzymes are known to be highly specific and in general cellulases have not been found to be active on chitin. To quote one scientific article: "The purified cellulase was devoid of chitinase, pectinase and mannanase activities". Moreover, in contrast to the previously mentioned fact that yeast bioengineered to make cellulases remain healthy, when a chitinase gene was bioengineered into the same yeast strain it resulted in complete growth inhibition. This again suggests cellulases do not in general contain significant chitinase activity.


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