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Nattokinase (NK) is a potent enzyme extracted from the Japanese soybean dish known as natto. This traditional food in Japan called Natto has been used safely for over a 1000 years with no reports of toxicity. It has been called, "The Enzyme of Enzymes" by its discoverer, Dr. Hiroyuki Sumi.
This enzyme Nattokinase is produced when Bacillus natto, a beneficial bacterium, reacts to the soybeans by a fermentation process. It is only the natto preparation that contains the specific nattokinase enzyme.
Nattokinase has many benefits including convenience of oral administration, prolonged effects, cost effectiveness, and it can be used preventatively.
It is a naturally occurring food based dietary supplement that has demonstrated stability in the gastrointestinal tract, as well as to changes in pH and temperature. Natto has been used in Japan for over a 1000 years as a remedy for heart and vascular diseases.
Nattokinase appears to have the added benefit of significantly reducing elevated blood pressure (an often concomitant condition in cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as high fibrin).
"In a study of 100 cardiac risk factors, it was found that all share one thing – blood thickness" stated Dr. Ralph E. Holsworth, Jr., the leading authority on nattokinase in the United States. According to Dr. Holsworth, one in four people have a genetic predisposition for blood thickness. Nattokinase has been shown to decrease blood thickness, which leads to increased oxygen distribution for the entire body, without sacrificing clotting ability. Nattokinase has been shown to be effective for people in their 30s and older, and especially for post-menopausal women.
Nattokinase, a fibrinolytic, breaks down the fibrin enzyme which is a blood clotting protein.
Clotting is a protective mechanism that protects the body from excessive bleeding when you cut yourself.
Fibrinolytic enzymes are normally generated in the cells of the blood vessels. But as the body ages, production of these enzymes begins to decline, making blood more prone to coagulation. Since these cells exist throughout the body, such as in the arteries, veins and lymphatic system, poor production of thrombolytic enzymes can lead to the development of clotting prone conditions virtually anywhere in the body.
The best thing about Nattokinase is that it has benefits like pharmaceutical agents (A couple examples are warafin, heparin, t-PA and urokinase) designed to regulate blood clotting.
But it is without any of the side effects of these medications.
These medications have to be injected and only provide a few hours of benefit.
Nattokinase is effective when taken orally and its benefits linger upto 24 hours.
Blood clots form when strands of protein called fibrin accumulate in a blood vessel. In the heart, blood clots cause blockage of blood flow to muscle tissue. If blood flow is blocked, the oxygen supply to that tissue is cut off and it eventually dies. This can result in angina and heart attacks. Clots in chambers of the heart can mobilize to the brain.
In the brain, blood clots also block blood and oxygen from reaching necessary areas, which can result in senility and/or stroke.
Researchers believe that nattokinase may present a great alternative to conventional clot-dissolving drugs that must be taken intravenously. As stroke or heart attack victims may have hardened arteries, intravenous clot-dissolvers may be difficult to administer. Fortunately, oral NK has been shown to be effective at helping to prevent arterial hardening (a finding supported by in an influential study on animals, published in the journal Health Sciences Institute).
Dosage:
Standard doses of Nattokinase vary from 250-1,000 mg and positive effects can be seen with as little as 50 mg.
Studies:
Dr. Sumi and his colleagues induced blood clots in male dogs, then orally administered either four capsules of nattokinase (250 mg per capsule) or four placebo capsules to each dog.
Angiograms (X-rays of blood vessels) revealed that the dogs who received nattokinase regained normal blood circulation, free of the clot, within five hours of treatment. Blood clots in the dogs who received only placebo showed no sign of dissolving in the 18 hours following treatment.
Researchers from Biotechnology Research Laboratories and JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. of Kobe, Japan, tested nattokinase's ability to dissolve a thrombus in the carotid arteries of rats. Animals treated with nattokinase regained 62 percent of blood flow, whereas those treated with plasmin regained just 15.8 percent of blood flow.
Researchers from JCR Pharmaceuticals, Oklahoma State University, and Miyazaki Medical College tested nattokinase on 12 healthy Japanese volunteers (6 men and 6 women, between the ages of 21 and 55). They gave the volunteers 200 grams of natto (the food) before breakfast, then tracked fibrinolytic activity through a series of blood plasma tests.
The tests indicated that the natto generated a heightened ability to dissolve blood clots: On average, the volunteers' ELT (a measure of how long it takes to dissolve a blood clot) dropped by 48 percent within two hours of treatment, and volunteers retained an enhanced ability to dissolve blood clots for 2 to 8 hours. As a control, researchers later fed the same amount of boiled soybeans to the same volunteers and tracked their fibrinolytic activity. The tests showed positive results.
Various other nutritional supplements and herbs have been reported to have fibronlytic activity, but the potency of Nattokinase appears to be superior.
Nattokinase also appears to be an activator of various other metabolic enzymes and vitamins, moving them from their inactive to their active forms. The strength and magnitude of this direct support for the metabolic enzymes of the body, from an oral enzyme supplement, is unique to Nattokinase and shows great promise as a nutritional supportive agent in exciting and diverse ways.
