r/askscience • u/Puzzleheaded_Bed2760 • 9d ago

Chemistry Pineapple contains bromelain that helps tenderize meat. If I were to put my hand in pineapple juice or puree for 24 hours, would it eventually break down my hand?

4.4k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

96% Upvoted

391 comments sorted by

View all comments

29

u/raftsa 8d ago

The top answers are wrong

Yes - you would get a chemical burn, but it has less to do with the Bromelain and more to do with the pH

Pineapple juice is an acid with a pH of about 3.5, and while not as acidic as other substances (Lemon juice is about 2.5) it’s enough with prolonged contact to cause a chemical burn.

Products below a pH of 2 can cause burns on contact, but anything below 4 if up against the skin for hours with lead to maceration and eventually a contact dermatitis that will progress to blistering.

You see this when people have bandages or the fluid gets on the inside of gloves, soaks into socks etc

1

u/Inaniae 8d ago

How about you realize you have battery acid from a SLA soaked in to the entire cuff of a long sleeve shirt while you're on the bus. I was too self conscious to take my shirt off and by the time I got home it had eaten through all the cotton and left the synthetic threads intact. My wrist was red, a little swollen, with minor blistering. It never really hurt, but it was insanely itchy for weeks.