NATTOKINASE – USES AND BENEFITS

Abstract

Nattokinase has been one of the most widely discussed and researched extracellular enzymes since it was first introduced in 2005. Nattokinase belongs to the subtilisin family and is a proteolytic enzyme (serine protease) with a powerful fibrinolytic effect. Nattokinase is purified and extracted from fermented soybean seeds under the effect of the Bacillus subtilis (Natto) bacteria. Its main natural source is the fermented vegetable cheese called natto, which is a traditional Japanese food consumed in Japan for more than 2000 years (1). All over the world, natto is regarded as a fibrinolytic miracle food. The enzyme discovery became a fact thanks to the Japanese scientist Hiroyuki Sumi, a researcher at the Medical University in Chicago, who in 1980 after testing more than 173 natural foods as possible thrombolytic agents(2), discovered that natto possesses the ability to break down artificial fibrin in vitro. Later in 1987, Sumi and his team introduced the new fibrinolytic enzyme, extracted from natto, and named it nattokinase (NK), known also as subtilisin NAT. The major interest in the enzyme is namely because of its direct fibrinolytic activity, provided that it remains stable in the gastrointestinal tract after oral administration. This determines it as a highly valuable, safe and easy-to-use nutraceutical with a wide area of medical applications for the treatment of thrombotic, neurological and dyslipidemia conditions, arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, hemorrhoids, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, muscle spasms, infertility in reproductive medicine and obstetrics.