Does nattokinase lower blood pressure?

    Last Updated: October 13, 2024

    Small studies suggest that nattokinase can mildly lower blood pressure in some people; however, it's not clear if this effect persists in the long term. A clinical study in 86 patients with high blood pressure showed that taking 100 mg (2,000 fibrinolytic units (FU)) of nattokinase daily for 8 weeks reduced systolic blood pressure by about 6 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by about 3 mmHg compared to a placebo.[1] Another small study in adults without known health conditions showed that taking 552 mg (11,040 FU) of nattokinase (NSK-SD) daily for four weeks resulted in small and variable decreases in blood pressure. However, the reduction in diastolic blood pressure was only statistically significant in female participants.[2]

    The blood-pressure-lowering effect has been attributed to peptides in denatured nattokinase which inhibit the angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE). Denaturing the nattokinase enzyme with heat and simulated stomach contents seems to yield more of these peptides, as shown in animal and in vitro research.[3][4] A laboratory study using simulated digestion, or exposing nattokinase to the stomach digestive enzymes pepsin and trypsin, showed that the enzyme fragments had greater ACE-inhibitory activity than nattokinase itself.[5]

    References

    1. ^Kim JY, Gum SN, Paik JK, Lim HH, Kim KC, Ogasawara K, Inoue K, Park S, Jang Y, Lee JHEffects of nattokinase on blood pressure: a randomized, controlled trialHypertens Res.(2008 Aug)
    2. ^Lampe BJ, English JCToxicological assessment of nattokinase derived from Bacillus subtilis var. natto.Food Chem Toxicol.(2016 Feb)
    3. ^Fujita M, Ohnishi K, Takaoka S, Ogasawara K, Fukuyama R, Nakamuta HAntihypertensive effects of continuous oral administration of nattokinase and its fragments in spontaneously hypertensive rats.Biol Pharm Bull.(2011)
    4. ^Murakami K, Yamanaka N, Ohnishi K, Fukayama M, Yoshino MInhibition of angiotensin I converting enzyme by subtilisin NAT (nattokinase) in natto, a Japanese traditional fermented food.Food Funct.(2012 Jun)
    5. ^Ramlal A, Nautiyal A, Baweja P, Kumar V, Mehta S, Mahto RK, Tripathi S, Shanmugam A, Pujari Mallikarjuna B, Raman P, Lal SK, Raju D, Rajendran AAngiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides and isoflavonoids from soybean Glycine max (L.) Merr..Front Nutr.(2022)