The enzyme of enzymes - Nattokinase

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Nov, 2002 by Nicholas Dr. Calvino

Recently a new metabolic, "biological" enzyme with potent fibrinolytic activity, that rivals pharmaceutical agents, has been discovered and shows great potential in providing support for hypercoagulative states and in supporting the activation of many of the body's 3,000 endogenous enzymes. This all-natural enzyme, Nattokinase (NK), is derived from a fermentation process of soy and the bacteria Bacillus natto. Already, backed by convincing and novel research, Nattokinase shows promise in supporting areas such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, angina, venous stasis, thrombosis, emboli, atherosclerosis, fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue, claudication, retinal pathology, hemorrhoid, varicose veins, soft tissue rheumatisms, muscle spasm, poor healing, chronic inflammation and pain, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, tissue oxygen deprivation, infertility, and other gynecology conditions (e.g. endometriosis, uterine fibroids). To comprehend the magnitude of this new finding, a review of biological enzymes is n ecessary.

Enzymes, the Fountain of Life

Biological enzymes are enzymes which regulate endogenous chemical processes and have been called "the fountain of life" -- because without them, life could not exist. These enzymes speed and regulate all chemical reactions in the body in an orchestration of intelligence and control. Enzymes are made in the body from proteins and are provided by the ingestion of enzyme rich foods. During times of stress, sickness or reduced nutrient intake, the body can fall behind in the demand for the constant upkeep and creation of enzymes. Luckily the body has evolved to derive many of its enzymes from food, which helps to reduce the burden of the high enzyme production needs. Unfortunately, however, the enzyme content of foods has significantly decreased over the years due to processing, soil depletion, refining and preservation techniques of the food industry and a decreased consumption of fermented foods and fresh foods, which are high in enzyme content. Enzymes are an essential component of the diet -- like vitamins, m inerals, phytonutrients, fat, protein, carbohydrates, etc. -- and without them, a deficiency state does occur. This deficiency state has been linked by various researchers, such as Dr. Edward Howell, Dr. M. Wolf, Dr. Francis Pottenger, Dr. Royal Lee, and Dr. Weston Price, to chronic disease, accelerated aging and premature death. Enzymes function by activating vitamins and minerals to forms usable by the body, by assisting in the liberation of nutrients from food, by helping to destroy harmful microbial agents, by signaling and regulating chemical processes (such as detoxification), and by activating other enzymes and hormones (cleaving zymogens [right arrow] enzymes and pro-hormones [right arrow] hormones).

There are three major groups of biological enzymes: (1) Food Enzymes, (2) Digestive Enzymes and (3) Metabolic Enzymes. In the past, the therapeutic use of enzymes has largely focused on the use of digestive enzymes. Digestive enzymes can be directly beneficial because they assist in digestion, help regulate immune responses in the intestinal tract, and relieve the body of its relative requirement of digestive enzyme production, allowing for biological energy and resources to be further allocated to the production of metabolic enzymes, indirectly.

Until now, the nutritional use of enzyme supplements has been almost exclusively in the form of Digestive Enzymes. Recently, however, a new Metabolic Enzyme has been isolated from a traditional fermented Japanese food (although it is consumed by other cultures in the same or similar forms), Natto, that appears to have metabolic effects and to work directly in concert with the metabolic enzymes. The name of this new enzyme is Nattokinase (meaning the enzyme from Natto) and has been called, "The Enzyme of Enzymes" by its discoverer, Dr. Hiroyuki Sumi. Natto has been used in Japanese culture for over 1000 years for its popular taste and as a folk remedy for heart and vascular diseases. Natto is produced by a fermentation process by adding Bacillus natto, a beneficial bacterium, to boiled soybeans. The resulting nattokinase enzyme, is produced when Bacillus natto acts on the soybeans. Nattokinase has been the subject of 17 studies, including two small human trials. Nattokinase's most intriguing role promises to b e its involvement in coagulation homeostasis. While other soy foods contain beneficial enzymes, it is only the natto preparation that contains the specific nattokinase enzyme.

Coagulation Homeostasis Overview

To understand the impact of Nattokinase on coagulation, a review of coagulation homeostasis and therapy is warranted. Some of the endogenous and exogenous agents involved in coagulation homeostasis are Plasmin, Heparin, Coumarin/Warfarin, and TPA. However, most of these agents either have limitations, and/or serious side effects. A brief discussion on each:

* Plasmin is an endogenous protease that resembles trypsin (a digestive protease), and is the activated form of plasminogen. It is able to digest fibrin fibers, however, its limitation is that it is slowly activated, and therefore, slow acting, and works better to dissolve small clots, rather than larger ones.