Lumbrokinase

Earthworm Fibrinolytic Enzyme · Lumbricus rubellus enzyme · Earthworm Powder Enzyme

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Cerebral infarction¹ Stable angina² Pulmonary thromboembolism³

Lumbrokinase is a complex of serine protease enzymes extracted from earthworms (Pheretima) with specific fibrinolytic activity, used clinically in China for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular thrombotic disease⁴. Supplementation follows from that effect: cerebral infarction, stable angina, and pulmonary thromboembolism, typically in patients already on standard antithrombotic care.

Human research is limited to about five small trials, covering cerebral infarction, secondary stroke prevention, stable angina, pulmonary thromboembolism, and tolerability in healthy adults. In cerebral infarction, a 2000 single-blind randomized trial found a greater stroke score improvement than in controls¹. A 2016 crossover trial in healthy adults found no significant difference from placebo in hemostasis parameters⁵. In a 2025 preclinical study, a lumbrokinase-loaded hydrogel promoted bone regeneration in cranial defects; no human trial has tested this. Products are sold as capsules, with 34 products listing lumbrokinase; see Form comparison.

The caution centers on bleeding: lumbrokinase prolonged clotting time and lowered fibrinogen in the cerebral infarction trial¹. The pulmonary thromboembolism study gave it alongside low molecular weight heparin and warfarin, so anticoagulant and antiplatelet co-use is reported rather than excluded.

Last updated October 15, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

20 sources, 14 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
InteractionsThe medicines and supplements it interacts with, the effect of each, and what labeling says to watch.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources