While serrapeptase is often sourced from silkworm, ours is microbial-based. More specifically, our serrapeptase is sourced from Serratia marcescens.
The bacteria Serratia marcescens naturally produces serrapeptase enzymes. The enzymes are harvested from the culture by using a series of filtrations. It starts with a coarse filter, with gradually decreasing pore sizes, and ultimately what remains of bacterial fragments are removed by microfiltration. What comes out from the other side contains no bacteria, just the enzyme isolate.
Serrapeptase derived from silkworm would be no more or less effective, since the molecular structure of a given enzyme — regardless of source — will be the same. Additionally, enzymes are measured by activity and potency (rather than weight).
With enzymes, listing the amount in weight, like milligrams (mg), is fairly meaningless because it doesn’t indicate the enzyme’s effectiveness. The Food Chemical Codex (FCC), which is created by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), establishes the standard measurements for supplements. While most food or nutrients are based on weight, enzymes are measured by units of activity and potency, with no direct correlation between weight and units of activity. Serrapeptase is measured in units of SPU. Our Serrapeptase Systemic Enzymes have 120,000 enteric-coated SPUs per serving (1 capsule).