Although not commonly found on many menus in the West, you may want to consider adding natto to your diet to support heart health and optimal blood flow after reading this article.*
Those new to this traditional Japanese breakfast of fermented soybeans often notice a distinct texture and nutty smell and flavor they may not be familiar with. However, natto is considered a ‘superfood’ owing to its high natural content of vitamins, minerals, protein, and dietary fiber. Studies indicate that natto may be one of the factors that contributes to the longevity of the Japanese population, where it has been consumed as a dietary staple for more than a thousand years.
Recent research has established the health-promoting benefits of nattokinase—the enzyme released by the bacteria during the fermentation of soybeans. In this article, we’ll discuss nattokinase and vascular health and why you should include an advanced nattokinase supplement in your diet. Use the links below to jump ahead to different topics on the page.
What Is Nattokinase?
Nattokinase, the most active ingredient in natto, is produced by the bacterium Bacillus subtilis during the fermentation of soybeans. Natto’s fermentation biproducts are glutamic acid and polyglutamic acid, both known for their vascular health-promoting benefits.* Chemically, nattokinase is a serine protease enzyme that displays strong fibrinolytic activity—meaning it helps prevent blood clots, enhances vascular permeability, and promotes heart health.*
Nattokinase was first extracted from fermented soybeans in 1987. In commercial nattokinase production, fermentation conditions are optimized, including the temperature, pH, and fermentation time, to enhance its yield. Several other nutrients, including yeast extract, glycerol, shrimp shell powder, and soy peptone, have also been investigated for their ability to enhance nattokinase yield.
Because nattokinase is considered a safe and all-natural supplement for supporting vascular health,* commercial nattokinase supplements are widely used in Japan, Korea, China, the European Union countries, Canada, and the United States for its beneficial fibrinolytic activity and to enhance blood circulation.*
Pharmacological Properties of Nattokinase
The following table highlights some of the key pharmacological properties of nattokinase.
| Pharmacologic Properties of Nattokinase | |
|---|---|
| Fibrinolytic activity* | Fibrin, an insoluble protein, is produced in response to bleeding. Fibrin helps stop bleeding by forming blood clots. However, an excess of fibrin can form excessive blood clots that could adversely affect heart or brain functions. Nattokinase degrades fibrin directly.* Indirectly, it also increases the release of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA)—an enzyme that converts plasminogen into its active form, plasmin, which breaks down blood clots.*1 Nattokinase also activates other fibrinolytic enzymes, such as pro-urokinase.* |
| Enhancing Blood Flow* | The formation of a blood clot (thrombus) inside a blood vessel is called thrombosis. Thrombosis can obstruct blood flow and is a common underlying cause of several adverse cardiovascular conditions.In an animal study on a thrombus in the common carotid artery, the activity of nattokinase in inhibiting clot formation was stronger than that of other thrombolytic agents, such as plasmin or elastase.*2 |
| Antioxidant activity* | Nattokinase exerts beneficial effects on oxidative injury-mediated arterial thrombosis and inflammation-induced thrombosis3 and helps maintain a healthy inflammatory response.* |
| Lipid-lowering activity | Nattokinase exerts a direct antioxidant effect, inhibiting the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), reducing lipid peroxidation, and enhancing lipid metabolism.*4 |
| Neuroprotective activity | The neuroprotective activity of nattokinase is associated with its ability to relax vascular smooth muscle, to protect endothelial cells through enhanced fibrinolytic activity, and to facilitate thrombolysis.*5 |
Cardioprotective Effects of Nattokinase
Prior to the 1980s, there was limited knowledge about the mechanism of action by which nattokinase exerted its cardioprotective effects.* Extensive research now shows that the fibrinolytic activity of nattokinase, in addition to its antioxidant, lipid-lowering, and neuroprotective activities, contributes to its role as a cardioprotective agent. The following table highlights how nattokinase promotes heart health.*
| Nattokinase and Heart Health* | |
|---|---|
| It helps maintain normal blood pressure.* Angiotensin II, a peptide hormone, causes the muscular walls of small arteries to constrict, which can increase blood pressure. Nattokinase contains relatively strong natural inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) — a key enzyme responsible for the production of angiotensin II.*6 | |
| It helps maintain smooth and supple arteries. Nattokinase’s natural beneficial thrombolytic activity is associated with helping to maintain healthy blood flow in the arteries.*7 | |
| It helps maintain normal platelet aggregation.* Although aspirin is commonly prescribed as a blood thinner to restrict blood clotting, the long-term use of aspirin can be associated with serious gastrointestinal side effects. Nattokinase has no such adverse effects on gut health and shows an excellent ability to help maintain normal platelet aggregation.*8 | |
| It helps improve lipid metabolism. In a clinical study on the effect of nattokinase on individuals with an excess of fat or lipids in their blood, nattokinase helped maintain normal levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol.*9 |
Nattokinase and Vascular Health*
Various human and animal trials have shown the correlation between nattokinase and vascular health and how the enzyme provides cardiovascular support by helping to thin the blood and maintain normal blood clotting.
- Nattokinase helps maintain normal blood clotting by directly hydrolyzing fibrin and plasmin substrate.*
- Nattokinase converts endogenous pro-urokinase (a plasminogen activator) to urokinase (uPA).*
- Nattokinase increases tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), which supports fibrinolytic activity.*
Notably, unlike other common fibrinolytic proteases (uPA and t-PA), nattokinase has no adverse side effects, such as bleeding, which makes it a potent fibrinolytic enzyme for helping to maintain normal blood flow and clot formation.*
Including An Advanced Nattokinase Supplement in Your Diet
Because nattokinase can resist high temperatures (up to 50 degrees Celsius) and high pH (up to 10), it remains intact in the gastrointestinal tract. Unlike most proteins, nattokinase is relatively resistant to the highly acidic gastric fluids in the stomach, so it can be absorbed in the later sections of the digestive tract.
In a human study on the serum pharmacokinetics of nattokinase, intact nattokinase was detected in the blood of healthy participants after they were administered a single oral dose of nattokinase (2000 FU/ 100 mg) in a capsule.10 Furthermore, it has been observed that nattokinase’s oral intake enhances its fibrinolytic activity in the blood.*11 Nattokinase’s oral intake promotes the beneficial release of tissue plasminogen activator from vascular endothelial cells and inhibits the level of plasminogen activator inhibitors.*
However, nattokinase’s large molecular size can make it susceptible to chemical oxidation and subsequent inactivation in the gastrointestinal tract. As a result, various nano-delivery methods have been explored to enhance its stability. An advanced nattokinase supplement formulation can optimize its absorption and bioavailability to achieve nattokinase’s many health-promoting benefits.*
Frequently Asked Questions About Nattokinase Supplements
There has been extensive research on nattokinase and vascular health, establishing the cardioprotective effects of the compound. The following are frequently asked questions (FAQs) about nattokinase supplements for vascular health.
What is the recommended amount of nattokinase for daily intake?
In human clinical studies, the no-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) of nattokinase is 10 mg/kg for daily oral intake for 28 days.12 Currently, the recommended use of nattokinase as a nutritional supplement is two capsules (100 mg/capsule) daily.
Can I take a nattokinase supplement with a prescription medicine?
Although nattokinase is considered safe for oral intake, its potential contraindications with prescription drugs, such as blood thinners, and resulting side effects are relatively unknown. Consult your healthcare provider before taking a nattokinase supplement alone or with a prescription medication.
What should I look for when considering a nattokinase supplement?
A nattokinase supplement formulation should optimize its absorption and bioavailability. Look for a supplement formulation that utilizes advanced nutrient delivery nanotechnology and is developed through advanced production and purification technologies.
Tesseract Medical Research has developed an innovative formulation, NattoGuard, which contains a potent combination of nattokinase and two plant terpenes, borneol and trans-cinnamaldehyde, to support optimal heart health.* Tesseract’s proprietary CyLoc® —DexKey® nutrient delivery nanotechnology enhances nattokinase’s bioavailability by protecting it from degradation during transit through the stomach and ensuring its targeted delivery at the desired point in the intestinal tract. The resulting unprecedented absorption and optimal bioavailability make NattoGuard a cardiovascular health-promoting reality.*
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in enhancing palatability, maximizing solubility, absorption, and bioavailability, and micro-dosing a single or multiple nutrients in a single, highly effective capsule. Shop products on our website and learn more about how they support cardiovascular health.*
References:
1Hsia C-H, et al. Nutrition Research (New York, N.Y.) vol. 29,3 (2009):190-196. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2009.01.009
2Fujita M, et al. Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin vol. 18,10 (1995):1387-1391. doi:10.1248/bpb.18.1387
3,4Iwai K, et al. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry vol. 50,12 (2002):3597-3601. doi:10.1021/jf0117199
5Ji H,, et al. European Journal of Pharmacology vol. 745 (2014):144-151. doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2014.10.024
6Okamoto A, et al. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands) vol. 47,1 (1995):39-47. doi:10.1007/BF01088165
7Suzuki Y, et al. Life Sciences vol. 73,10 (2003):1289-1298. doi:10.1016/s0024-3205(03)00426-0
8Jang J-Y, et al. Laboratory Animal Research vol. 29,4 (2013):221-225. doi:10.5625/lar.2013.29.4.221
9Ren NN, et al. Zhonghua yi xue za zhi vol. 97,26 (2017):2038-2042. doi:10.3760/cma.j.issn.0376-2491.2017.26.005
10Ero, MP, et al. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine vol. 19,3 (2013):16-19.
11Fujita M, et al. Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin vol. 18,9 (1995):1194-1196. doi:10.1248/bpb.18.1194
12Lampe BJ, English JC. Food and Chemical Toxicology: an International Journal Published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association vol. 88 (2016):87-99. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2015.12.025
