Described as an “entirely natural food supplement” and a “miracle food”, nattotokinase would, in addition, a “powerful” effect against blood clots. THE Rumor detector And the organization for science and society sought where these statements came from.
The origin of rumors
Table of Contents
The craze for nattokinase began in the 1980s, while researcher Hiroyuki Sumi looks at a Japanese dish called Natto. This is sometimes described as a vegetable cheese. Traditionally, it is prepared by cooking soy beans, then adding a bacteria called Bacillus subtilis natto. It is allowed to ferment at the room temperature for at least 24 hours, which results in a viscous film secreted by the bacteria and which covers the beans. Inside this sticky substance, there is, among other things, an enzyme discovered by Sumi in 1987.
The researcher already knew that natto could dissolve piles of protein called fibrines, which are involved in blood clotting. This property to dissolve blood clots – which is called fibrinolytic action – was due, it turns out, at the enzyme that Sumi had isolated from the natto. He called this Nattokinase enzyme.
Natto is not the only dish that contains nattotokinase. Moreover, Bacillus subtilis Natto is not the only secretrice of Nattokinase, and ingredients such as chickpeas or brown rice can replace soy beans in order to stimulate the secretion of the enzyme by bacterial fermentation. Nowadays that code nattotokinase in the DNA of Bacillus subtilis has been isolated, which allows the enzyme to be produced on a large scale.
An overview of comments on Nattokinase dietary supplements on Amazon shows all kinds of assertions, from a person who has ceased to take aspirin to the one who claims that it helped him with his congestion of sinuses via “cleaning the arteries”.
Nattokinase has even been talked about during the COVIR, in the circles opposite to vaccines: a group founded by two doctors known for their reputation as disinformators during the pandemic claims that nattotokinase helps “diseases associated with the Spicule protein”, diseases that are actually fictitious. The American Peter McCullough approves the use of nattokinase to “detox” the spicule of the coronavirus. There Wellness Company, For which McCullough works, sells a formula called “Spike Support” which contains nattotokinase, for US $ 65.
Research
Little research has been carried out. Existing studies have often focused on rats or cells and use doses of much superior to what is recommended in humans. Several of the studies in humans lack rigor and their negative results are often distorted by their authors. The title of a 2015 article thus claims that one dose of nattokinase helps to melt the clots. But the study was carried out in 12 men and the changes measured were all “within normal limits”.
It is also said of nattotokinase that it would help to break the plates associated with Alzheimer’s disease … At least, in test pie.
Meanwhile, a review of scientific literature published in 2018 illustrates a strange inconsistency. In a study published five years earlier, the amount of nattotokinase in the blood of a person who had consumed it reached their peak later. Except that another study talks about two to four hours.
Although there are 216 brands separate from Nattokinase supplements for sale in the United States, there is very little information on what happens to the enzyme when swallowing it. Is it decomposed by the acid of our stomach, like most proteins that we ingest? If so, entering-soluble coating, which protects the pills from this acid until it arrives at the intestine, could help. But is nattotokinase absorbed into the blood through the intestinal wall? We do not know.
The best study to date is a randomized trial at the University of Southern California, published in 2021. Its 265 health participants have been divided into two groups in order to receive either a Nattokinase supplement, or a placebo for three years, which is very long for such a test. At the end of the line, the researchers did not detect any difference between the two groups, whether in terms of blood pressure or blood markers indicating any cardiovascular disease.
Verdict
The alleged benefits of nattotokinase have not manifested themselves so far.
Photo:
