What is "nattokinase"

n. (context enzyme English) A serine protease of the subtilisin family, extracted from natto.

Nattokinase (pronounced nat-oh-KY-nase) is an enzyme extracted and purified from a Japanese food called nattō. Nattō is made from fermented soybeans and has been eaten in Japan for about a thousand years. Nattō is produced by fermentation by adding the bacterium Bacillus natto to boiled soybeans. Nattokinase is produced by the bacterium acting on the soybeans. While other soy foods contain enzymes, it is only the nattō preparation that contains the specific nattokinase enzyme.

In spite of its name, nattokinase is not a kinase enzyme, but a serine protease of the subtilisin family. It exhibits a strong fibrinolytic activity. Nattokinase can now be produced by recombinant means and in batch culture, rather than relying on extraction from Nattō.

Nattokinase was first isolated and marketed under the name of NSK-SD in 1998 by Japan Bio Science Laboratory, which had removed vitamin K2.