Bromelain is an aqueous extract of pineapple that contains a complex mixture of proteases and non-protease
components. These enzymes perform an important role in proteolytic modulation of the cellular
matrix in numerous physiologic processes, including anti-inflammatory, anti-thrombotic and fibrinolytic
functions. Due to the scale of global production of pineapple (Ananas comosus L.), and the high percentage
of waste generated in their cultivation and processing, several studies have been conducted on the recovery
of bromelain. The aim of this study was to purify bromelain from pineapple wastes using an easy-toscale-
up process of precipitation by ethanol. The results showed that bromelain was recovered by using
ethanol at concentrations of 30% and 70%, in which a purification factor of 2.28 fold was achieved, and
yielded more than 98% of the total enzymatic activity. This enzyme proved to be susceptible to denaturation
after the lyophilization process. However, by using 10% (w/v) glucose as a cryoprotector, it was possible
to preserve 90% of the original enzymatic activity. The efficiency of the purification process was
confirmed by SDS–PAGE, and native-PAGE electrophoresis, fluorimetry, circular dichroism and FTIR analyzes,
showing that this method could be used to obtain highly purified and structurally stable bromelain.