Lumbrokinase

Lumbrokinase is a complex enzyme preparation extracted from earthworms. Lumbrokinase can also be referred to as earthworm powder enzymes (EPE) or earthworm fibrinolytic enzymes (e-PPA). Earthworms have been used in traditional Easter medicine for thousands of years in countries such as China, Japan and Korea. According to the ancient Chinese medical publication Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Chinese Botanical and Animal Products), earthworms or “Earth Dragons" possess the properties to “invigorate blood, resolve stasis, and unblock the body's meridians and channels.” As a result, earthworms are commonly used in traditional herbal formulae that treat ischemic or thromboembolic conditions.
Inspired by the empirical wisdom of traditional Eastern medicine, the Japanese started searching for ingredients that could account for the observed properties of earthworms. Finally, in 1983 Dr. Hisashi Mihara succeeded in extracting powerful fibrin-dissolving enzymes from earthworms and he named this group of enzymes lumbrokinase. Since then Korean and Chinese researchers have compiled extensive in-vitro, animal and clinical data on the properties and applications of lumbrokinase over the past 30 years.

Potential clinical applications One of the most intensely researched areas is the use of lumbrokinase in the prevention and treatment of ischemic stroke patients. Lumbrokinase was shown to be safe and effective for treating acute ischemic stroke by lowering blood viscosity, preventing re-perfusion damage, and reducing neural deficits. It was also shown to improve the efficacy of aspirin as a secondary prevention of stroke.
Lumbrokinase is equally impressive in the treatment of coronary arterial diseases, including patients with unstable angina. Besides lowering whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, fibrinogen, and ESR, research data indicated that lumbrokinase was able to minimize angina attack frequency, minimize the need for nitroglycerine and improve ST segment elevation on the EKG. Other potential applications of lumbrokinase include deep venous thrombosis, essential hypertension, vascular dementia, etc.
Unknown to most clinicians, lumbrokinase is now been investigated as a potential anti-tumor and anti-metastatic agent. There are various in-vitro and clinical evidence pointing towards the involvement of hyper-coagulation in stimulating tumor growth and metastasis. There are also evidence showing the potential use of anti-coagulants in limiting cancer growth and metastasis. Though still early in the research stage, lumbrokinase has been shown to inhibit stomach cancer cell growth and liver cancer cell metastasis in vitro. Animal models and human studies are surely to follow in the near future.

Lumbrokinase is a multiple enzyme preparation; naturally it also affects the coagulation system in multiple ways. Since the discovery of lumbrokinase by Dr. Mihara in 1983, various researchers have isolated the enzyme by different methods and also studied its physiological properties in animal models. All of the results pointed towards the fact that lumbrokinase possesses both direct and indirect fibrinolytic effects1-2. It can activate the plasminogen system and also can achieve direct fibrinolysis independent of the plasminogen system. In 2004, Zhang el al. discovered that lumbrokinase also inhibit PAI-1 activity and enhances t-PA activity3. In addition to being a strong fibrinolytic agent, lumbrokinase may indirectly achieve anticoagulation by inhibiting platelet functions.

Lumbrokinase is a fibrinolytic enzyme present in the earthworm Lumbricus bimastus.It has been investigated as an experimental antithrombotic agent.