Natto NKCP Academic Research and Articles

The lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor index (LOX index) is a biomarker for monitoring the progression of arteriosclerosis, and is calculated by multiplying the lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor-1 (LOX-1) ligands containing apolipoprotein B (LAB) and soluble LOX-1 (sLOX-1). We carried out a pilot study to evaluate the effect of the purified filtrate of Bacillus subtilis var. natto culture (NKCP), which is a functional food derived from “natto” (a traditional Japanese foodstuff of fermented soybeans), on the LOX index of patients with a high value. The LOX index was lower in more than half of the patients, although the results did not clearly show that NKCP lowered the LOX index. However, the lowering effect of NKCP on the LOX index was mainly d ... Read more

Abstract: Neck and shoulder stiffness is a typical subjective symptom in developed countries. This stiffness is caused by factors such as muscle tension and poor blood flow, leading to reduce work efficiency and diminish quality of life. NKCP®, a natto-derived dietary food supplement whose main component is bacillopeptidase F, has antithrombotic, fibrinolytic, and blood viscosity-lowering effects. Here, we investigated the effect of NKCP® on neck and shoulder stiffness in a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized crossover study. Thirty subjects with neck and shoulder stiffness were randomly divided into 2 groups and ingested 250 mg of NKCP® or placebo daily for 4 weeks. Headache score significantly improved in the NKCP® group compared to the placebo group. Moreover, NKCP® significantl ... Read more

Abstract: The fermented soybean product natto is a popular traditional food in Japan and is considered a health supplement. NKCP®, a natto-derived dietary food supplement whose main component is bacillopeptidase F, has antithrombotic, fibrinolytic, and blood pressure-lowering effects. We examined whether daily intake of NKCP® effectively improves subjective symptoms in patients with lifestyle diseases in this cross-over, double-blind study. Fermented soya extract with subtilisin NAT (nattokinase) as the main component was used as an active placebo. A 4-week course of NKCP® significantly decreased the visual analog scale (VAS) score for shoulder stiffness from 42.3 to 32.4 (P=0.009), the VAS score for low back pain from 25.5 to 18.8 (P=0.02), and the VAS score for coldness of the extremiti ... Read more

The fermented soybean product natto is a popular traditional food in Japan and is considered a health supplement. To investigate the effect of supplements derived from natto on blood pressure in patients with lifestyle diseases, a cross-over, double-blind study was performed. The substances used were fermented soya (natto) extract and NKCP®, with main components of subtilisin NAT and bacillopeptidase F, respectively. A four-week course of NKCP® significantly decreased average systolic blood pressure from 130.9 to 120.5 mmHg (p=0.001) and diastolic blood pressure from 72.9 to 68.6 mmHg (p=0.024). However, after a four-week treatment with fermented soya (natto) extract, no significant changes in systolic or diastolic blood pressure were found (126.8 to 126.4 mmHg, and 70.9 to 68.3 mmHg, res ... Read more

 Thrombotic diseases have been increasing recently and are said to account for approximately 30% of all causes of death among Japanese people. Potassium warfarin (hereinafter referred to as "wf'), a preventive for thrombosis, is the most commonly used oral coumarin anticoagulant and is known to have a number of interactions with foods and other drugs. For example, patients receiving wf must pay attention to the intake of foods and drugs containing vitamin K (hereinafter referred to as "vit K"), because vit K in large doses may cancel the effectiveness of wf.  The anticoagulant effect of wf consists of negative action on the carboxylation of vit K and inhibition of the biosynthesis of the vit K-dependent blood coagulation factors in the liver. Drugs containing vit K include, in addition to ... Read more

NKCP is the fragment of a part of Bacillopeptidase F from Natto bacteria (Bacillus natto), supplied as the tablet without distinct odor, bacterial cells nor vitamin K. The daily oral administration of NKCP, 28 volunteers for two weeks and 23 volunteers for several months, were examined to evaluate anti-thrombotic and fibrinolytic effect of the NKCP for humans. The fibrinolytic effect was observed with shortening euglobulin lysis time in both trials without any significant changes in other coagulation and fibrinolytic parameters. Furthermore, we observed the statistically significant change of shoulder stiffness. These results suggest that oral administration of NKCP has the fibrinolytic effect and the improvement of local blood flow. With further in vivo investigation, NKCP may be used as ... Read more