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What is Nattokinase?
Natto is often served on Japanese dinning; this traditional fermented food has over 1000 year’s history as diet, though it has also been eaten in other areas of Asia as well as Africa for centuries. When soybean is well cooked and covered with straws, the Bacillus subtilis natto on the straw will undergo fermentation process. The sticky-like material is naturally present B. subtilis natto and nattokinase (NK).
Nattokinase is consisting of 275 amino acid residues and exhibits high homology with the subtilisins which are serine protease (EC 3.4.21.62). It has potent fibrinolytic activity, enhances plasminogen activators, and inactivates a plasminogen activator inhibitor. Comparing the steady-state kinetic parameters for the cleavage of fibrinogen and cross-linked fibrin by nattokinase with hat of plasmin, the Km value for cleavage of cross-linked fibrin by nattokinase was 1/12.5 of that of plasmin, whereas the Km value for cleavage of fibrinogen by nattokinase was similar to that of plasemin. Plasmin is a natural human enzyme found in the blood and serves as a defense system to get rid of superfluous blood clots.
Biological Assembly Image for 4DWW. Crystal Structure of Nattokinase from Bacillus subtilis natto. PDB.
History of Nattokinase
Biochemical Characteristics of Nattokinase
