Guide

Does HoloZyme work? Fifteen enzymes with printed units, in one blend, and a rating from the old formula

HoloZyme is a digestive-enzyme capsule from Healthy Gut, taken with the first bites of a meal. Its label prints an activity unit for each of its 15 enzymes and adds ones aimed at gluten, fermentable carbohydrates and plant fiber to the usual protease, amylase and lipase. This page sets out what the label says, how it compares with Digest Gold, what the enzyme trials found, and why the Amazon rating belongs to a different formula.

What HoloZyme is, and what changed

The brand reformulated HoloZyme. The new formula has 15 enzymes in one capsule, 90 capsules to a bottle; the previous formula had 12 enzymes, two capsules to a standard serving and 180 capsules to a bottle. The brand’s conversion is two old capsules to one new capsule, and it says lactase is up 3.75 times per capsule.

The reason the change matters for a reader: the Amazon listing that shows 4.2 stars from 231 ratings is the previous formula. The new-formula Amazon listing shows no ratings. One reviewer of the old product wrote of a “recent formula change” the images did not make clear. Every Amazon figure below describes the previous formula.

The new panel, per capsule, as printed: AN-PEP prolyl endopeptidase 41,760 PPI and DPP-IV protease 500 DPP-IV (gluten); protease 100,000 HUT and peptidase 10 LAPU; amylase 20,000 SKB, maltase 300 DP and amyloglucosidase 10 AG; lactase 3,000 ALU, fructanase 200 INU, alpha-galactosidase 650 GalU and invertase 500 SU; xylanase 2,000 XU, cellulase 1,000 CU, phytase 20 FTU and lipase 700 FIP.

Two things stay hidden despite the units. The 15 enzymes share one 412 mg blend weight, so the amount of enzyme protein per capsule cannot be read, and five mineral sources (calcium ascorbate, magnesium citrate, zinc gluconate, manganese gluconate and a black mineral complex) share one 315 mg blend with no per-ingredient amounts. The brand presents the minerals as enzyme cofactors. There are no probiotics in it; the brand states it is made without gluten, dairy, soy or added sugar and does not say “vegan”.

The trial of the product itself

There is none. PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov searches for HoloZyme and the company returned no record. What the brand page offers instead is six “pilot studies” of its activated-enzyme system, with 3 to 60 participants (one does not state a number), reporting changes in after-meal blood glucose, triglycerides and uric acid. None is linked to a protocol or a paper, and the page itself says larger replication would be needed before any formal claims. The old Amazon listing calls them “clinically proven” pilot studies, which is the brand’s wording, not a finding.

None of the six measured digestive symptoms or enzyme activity, so they do not answer whether HoloZyme reduces bloating. The page also quotes a post-purchase survey (87% less bloating) with no respondent count.

The evidence for the enzymes

Evidence exists for single enzymes and for other companies’ blends, at doses that do not always match this label.

The gluten enzyme. AN-PEP digested gluten in two test-meal trials: a crossover in 12 healthy volunteers given 4 g of gluten in a liquid meal, where it lowered gluten fragments in the stomach and duodenum, and a crossover in 18 gluten-sensitive people eating porridge with 0.5 g of gluten, where the high dose reached at least 50% duodenal gluten degradation in 10 of 13 comparisons. In 40 adults with celiac disease on a gluten-free diet, two capsules of a different AN-PEP product (GliadinX) with each of three meals for four weeks did not significantly lower stool gluten peptides. The trials use their own units, not this label’s PPI. The brand says HoloZyme is not intended to replace a gluten-free diet or to treat or prevent celiac disease. GliadinX is listed here.

Alpha-galactosidase. In 8 healthy volunteers eating a bean meal, 1,200 GalU lowered breath hydrogen and flatulence. In IBS the results are weaker: a 12-week trial in 125 patients found no routine benefit over placebo, and a trial in 20 patients at 1,200 GalU a meal found no difference. One HoloZyme capsule supplies 650 GalU and the brand’s two-capsule step supplies 1,300.

Blends and the rest. A trial of a different multi-enzyme blend in 120 adults with functional dyspepsia improved symptom scores over two months against placebo; that blend is not HoloZyme’s. The fructanase evidence is a laboratory simulator study of a different product. Our digestive enzymes guide covers where single-purpose enzymes have trial support. We found no evidence that a 15-enzyme capsule outperforms a 13-enzyme one.

HoloZyme against Digest Gold

Because HoloZyme prints a unit for every enzyme, it can be read against the label of Digest Gold, which lists 13 enzymes per capsule. Where the units match:

• HoloZyme is higher on protease (100,000 against 80,000 HUT), lactase (3,000 against 900 ALU), alpha-galactosidase (650 against 450 GalU), invertase (500 against 240 SU), maltase (300 against 200 DP) and xylanase (2,000 against 550 XU).
• Digest Gold is higher on lipase (4,000 against 700 FIP) and cellulase (3,000 against 1,000 CU).
• Amylase is printed in different systems (20,000 SKB against 23,000 DU) and cannot be compared directly.

HoloZyme adds AN-PEP, DPP-IV, peptidase, fructanase and phytase as separate rows; Digest Gold adds beta-glucanase, pectinase and hemicellulase. Suppliers do not always use the same assay behind an abbreviation. Neither product has a trial of its own formula. For the single-purpose alternatives, Enzymedica GlutenEase targets gluten and FODZYME targets fructans.

How to take HoloZyme

The brand’s directions: take it with the first bites of the meal. One capsule for an everyday meal, two for a bigger or richer one, three for a restaurant meal or harder foods, four for a very heavy mixed meal. A capsule can be opened into food. The brand recommends three to six months of consistent use. It is dosed per meal, so a three-meal day runs from about 3 to 9 capsules by that guide.

Side effects and who should check first

No warning is printed on the panel; the brand’s footer advises checking with a healthcare professional if pregnant, breastfeeding or considering it for a child. The recurring complaint in the old-formula reviews is a strong reaction: Amazon’s summary notes that some report “extreme heartburn”, and of 15 side-effect mentions, 6 are negative. One describes a severe reaction to two capsules before breakfast.

What the reviews say

• Amazon (previous formula): 4.2 from 231 ratings, 66% five-star and 15% one or two stars. Of 45 effectiveness mentions, 37 are positive. Value for money splits 7 positive to 10 negative.
• Trustpilot: 4.5 from 23 reviews for the whole company, on a claimed profile.
• Better Business Bureau: A+, with 67 customer reviews and no complaints in the last three years.
• Google (4.5) and RaveCapture (4.6): cited on the brand page only; we did not read them at the source.

The brand’s own page shows no star rating for the new formula, so no independent review pool yet describes the 15-enzyme capsule.

Price, subscriptions and the guarantee

At one capsule per meal, three meals a day, that is about $2.50 a day at the one-time price, and more at the two to four capsules the brand suggests for bigger meals. Digest Gold is priced in the catalog at $0.45 a capsule. A 30-capsule bottle is $16.99.

The brand’s guarantee is 60 days, and its refund page says the refund excludes a $12.95 processing fee. US customers who bought more than one bottle send back the unopened, sealed bottles; with a single bottle there is no need to return it. After 60 days the brand offers only an online credit at its discretion. The brand page shows an out-of-stock label beside a pre-order price while its store feed lists the bottles as available, so availability is unsettled.

The founder’s own page describes him as an engineer who studied with the Kalish Institute of Functional Medicine and claims no medical degree. The brand cites certificates of analysis and GMP facilities and names no laboratory.

Who HoloZyme is for

• Someone who wants every enzyme activity printed and plans to compare units with other labels.
• Someone whose trigger meals involve dairy, beans or onions, knowing the IBS trials for those enzymes are mixed.

For bloating that does not follow particular meals, the enzymes against probiotics guide compares the approaches, and the quiz starts from symptoms.

The products in this catalog

Common questions

Sources

• Salden BN, et al. AN-PEP (prolyl endopeptidase) and gluten digestion in 12 healthy volunteers: randomized, double-blind crossover. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2015. PMID 26040627
• König J, et al. AN-PEP in a complex meal in 18 gluten-sensitive subjects: randomized, placebo-controlled crossover. Scientific Reports, 2017. PMID 29026170
• Stefanolo JP, et al. AN-PEP (GliadinX) in 40 adults with celiac disease on a gluten-free diet: double-blind randomized trial. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2024. PMID 38617446
• Di Stefano M, et al. Alpha-galactosidase and gas after a bean meal in 8 healthy volunteers. Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 2007. PMID 17151807
• Hillila M, et al. Alpha-galactosidase in 125 patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 2016. PMID 26133538
• Bohn L, et al. Alpha-galactosidase in 20 patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Neurogastroenterology and Motility, 2021. PMID 33619835
• Ullah I, et al. A multi-enzyme blend in 120 adults with functional dyspepsia. Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 2023. PMID 37976892
• Ochoa, et al. A fructan-hydrolase enzyme in a laboratory gut simulator. Gastro Hep Advances, 2023. PMID 39132653
• NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database: Enzymedica Digest Gold label, used for the unit-by-unit comparison. dsld.od.nih.gov/label/328881
• Brand page: label, directions, pilot-study text, price, refund terms and founder page. healthygut.com/products/holozyme; healthygut.com/policies/refund-policy
• Amazon listing for the previous formula (rating, star split and review topics). amazon.com/dp/B09C6Q12Y5; Trustpilot and Better Business Bureau profiles for Healthy Gut.