According to the Japanese, nattokinase will.
Nattokinase is the active ingredient (responsible for breaking down blood clots) of natto, which is a fermented soybean dish many Japanese eat for breakfast. It was discovered after researchers noticed the Japanese had fewer heart attacks than expected given how much they smoked.
Degradative Effect of Nattokinase on Spike Protein of SARS-CoV-2
by Takashi Tanikawa 1,*,†,Yuka Kiba 2,†,James Yu 3,Kate Hsu 3,Shinder Chen 3,Ayako Ishii 4,Takami Yokogawa 2ORCID,Ryuichiro Suzuki 5,Yutaka Inoue 1ORCID andMasashi Kitamura 2,*
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged as a pandemic and has inflicted enormous damage on the lives of the people and economy of many countries worldwide. However, therapeutic agents against SARS-CoV-2 remain unclear. SARS-CoV-2 has a spike protein (S protein), and cleavage of the S protein is essential for viral entry. Nattokinase is produced by Bacillus subtilis var. natto and is beneficial to human health. In this study, we examined the effect of nattokinase on the S protein of SARS-CoV-2. When cell lysates transfected with S protein were incubated with nattokinase, the S protein was degraded in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that S protein on the cell surface was degraded when nattokinase was added to the culture medium. Thus, our findings suggest that nattokinase exhibits potential for the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection via S protein degradation.