Anticoagulant effect of earthworm powder on experimental rabbit

Earthworm has been used as a experienced traditional medicine in some South Asia countries for years to treat diseases such as malaria, variola, rheumatism, asthenia. However, the scientific evidences about this medicine is not well established. Recently, Chinese and Japanese scientists isolated an enzyme with high fibrinolytic activity, named lumbrokinase, from Esenia foetida and Lumbricus rubellus. They found that this enzym can be used as an oral drug because it is easily absorbed into the blood from gut. In addition, the cost of this drug will be much cheaper than urokinase and plasminogen activators. In 2003 we investigated and extracted an enzyme with high fibrinolytic effect from a Vietnamese earthworm, Perionyx excavatus. The procedure for production of earthworm powder was established and the fibrinolytic activity of the powder was 300 UI/g. After trial, we found that the earthworm powder has blood anticoagulant effect on experimental rabbit.

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