Hope in the development of enzyme therapy
The current enzyme therapy was formed as answers to endless questions that have accumulated over the centuries in the inquisitive minds of various priests, healers and the first universal scientists. The experimental selection of all kinds of substances for the preparation of medicines with their quick and visible effectiveness, without understanding the mechanisms of its action, eventually made me think about the invisible power of all these juices, elixirs and decoctions. Just a couple of centuries ago, the happy minds of natural scientists did not know that there is a whole world of microsubstances that are the dynamic basis of all life. These substances were called enzymes, and the scientific direction was called enzymology. Today’s development of this young science, to a greater extent, is determined not by old questions, but by the answers received to them with the understanding that the abyss of the microworld has opened before us. Every specialist involved in research in the field of nymology clearly understands the decisive role that enzymes will play in the development of future treatments for various diseases. Rapidly developing immunology predicts that the victory over oncological diseases lies not in the field of chemotherapy or radiation, but in the field of immunotherapy with a decisive role of enzymes. Currently, many leading laboratories in the world have made this area a priority in their research and pharmaceutical development. The use of enzyme mixtures in the most complex metabolic disorders gives amazing results, instilling confidence that we are a few scientific steps away from fundamentally new methods of treatment.
History of the development of enzymology
Rene Antoine de Réaumur (1683 -1757), a Parisian, was one of those scientists whose universality in our time of narrow specialization is hard to imagine. He was at the same time a physicist, technician and naturalist, although he gained the greatest fame as an entomologist. In the last years of his life, Reaumur came to the conclusion that the search for a mysterious transforming power must be carried out where its manifestation is most obvious during the further transformation of food in the body, that is, during its assimilation. He shared this thought with his friend Lazzaro Spallanzani, a priest from Pavia, better known as a biologist who discovered the processes of regeneration and the first person who carried out artificial insemination in animals. Spallanzani went further, suggesting that gastric juice contains some substance capable of dissolving living and non-living tissues. After numerous experiments, he publishes a book entitled “Experiments of Mr. Abbot Spallanzani with the processes of digestion in humans and various animals.” It was published in Leipzig in German in 1785. The book was accompanied by commentaries from his friend and scholar, Mr. Jean Senebier (1742-1809), who was Minister of the Republic of Geneva for Church Affairs. He drew practical conclusions from the book of his colleague and began to apply compresses from the gastric juice of various animals to heal wounds and ulcers, as well as to dissolve growths and tumors. The surprising results of such treatment prompted him to further experiments and reflections. Once he came to the idea that all acidic liquids can contain those mysterious and beneficial substances that Spallanzani speaks of. Senebier began to use various acidic compounds and saline solutions in his medicinal practice. His dermatological successes in the treatment of herbal formulations containing salt are widely known in Europe. In 1803, his French-language book “Medicinal Juices of Animals and Plants” was published, which described methods for preparing medicines from plants based on various wines, vinegar, whey and water. Senebier was not the first to use so-called ferments or enzymes for therapeutic purposes, but he was the first to have any idea of what underlies these processes. His research and therapeutic practice aroused the interest of many scientists of that time, giving impetus to the development of a new science. The first scientific presentation in this area was given in 1814 by the St. Petersburg scientist K.S. Kirchhoff. A yeast substance extracted from germinated barley and having the ability to convert starch into maltose is called amylase. This added to the exploratory passion of many scientists in Europe, who speculated about the nature of living tissue and sought to discover what exactly in the gastric juice could cause the breakdown of proteins. Then it was already scientifically known that gastric juice contains hydrochloric acid, and it was believed that it was it that breaks down proteins in food, making them acceptable to the body. However, numerous experiments did not confirm this assumption.
In 1836, Theodor Schwann (the author of the cell theory, thanks to which the first information about the structure of the cell and cellular metabolism became known) succeeded inisolate from the gastric juice a substance that, in a concentrated state, could break down and dissolve proteins. Schwann called this substance pepsin, which was the first of the sought-after miraculous substances that can transform proteins – the cornerstones of our lives. There was no special name for this type of substance at that time. How these substances act could only be guessed at that time. In the same year that Schwann described pepsin, Berzelius published a paper in which he wrote: “We have sufficient arguments to suggest that thousands of catalytic processes occur in plants and animals, between tissues and fluids, causing many different splits. In them, perhaps, in the future we will discover the catalytic power of the living tissue from which bodily organs are built. Catalysts! More precisely, biocatalysts, that is, substances, the presence of which causes and accelerates the change in organic substance!!! Louis Pasteur was engaged in the division of biocatalysts into those operating inside and outside the living cell. He was the first to use the term “enzymes” to refer to biocatalysts that cause fermentation processes, called fermentation by specialists. A little later, the use of this term narrowed down and began to refer only to enzymes operating inside a living cell. The German naturalist, physician, professor of physiology Willy Kuehne in 1878 began to use the term “enzymes”, from the Greek word leaven, to refer to biocatalysts that also act outside living cells. The appearance of two names “enzymes” and “enzymes” caused confusion. Despite the fact that in 1897 it was decided to designate all biocatalysts without exception only by the term “enzyme”, both names are still used in literature and usage. The further development of enzymology was explosive all over the world. Almost all publications in this area succeeded each other with kaleidoscopic speed. If at the beginning of the 19th century only one enzyme was known, then in 1930 there were already eighty of them, and in 1984 two and a half thousand. By 1993, three thousand enzymes were already included in different classes, types and subtypes. The end of this search is still beyond the scope of our review, although a growing number of researchers believe that the tunnel will end soon. The World Commission on Enzymes, working within the framework of the International Biochemical Union, has determined “finally” (!) six main enzyme groups, which are fundamentally different from each other in their effects. This scientific material made it possible not only to deepen knowledge about the properties of these substances, but also to determine their combinatorial effects on the body.
Development of enzyme therapy in oncology
It has been about a hundred years since English embryologist John Baird tried to treat cancer patients with enzymes. He devoted his whole life to the study of those processes that lead to the formation of a complex organism from a fertilized egg. At the same time, he could not fail to notice that such development is closely connected with the activity of enzymes, unique substances, knowledge of which at that time was very small. However, it was already known that many of the most important enzymes are produced by the pancreas. Based on this, Byrd decided that if the process of cell reproduction is out of control, as happens with cancer, then the reason lies in the lack of some kind of enzyme. Although he did not quite understand the laws of the ongoing processes, he nevertheless created the first interesting theory, which he enthusiastically undertook to test in practice. He would take fresh, filtered pancreatic juice from young animals and inject it into a patient’s vein or gluteal muscle, and if a tumor was available, he would inject it directly into it. Along with failures, there were also cases when, as a result of such injections, the tumor was reduced, the development of the disease slowed down, and the patients lived much longer than the most optimistic forecasts. In 1907, Dr. Baird published a book called Enzymatic Cancer Treatment and its Scientific Basis, in which he described how he was able to cure, or significantly prolong life, more than 50% of newborn animals with the help of pancreatic juice from newborn animals. their patients. The book aroused unprecedented interest in England. Byrd’s colleagues had to, under pressure from their patients, try this fabulous juice. They ordered pancreatic juice from their pharmacists, but it turned out to be absolutely ineffective. Firstly, the juice was taken from old animals, and secondly, the hydrolytic enzymes present in it, active in an aqueous solution, decomposed each other during long-term transportation. In medicine, peace and tranquility reigned again, and the innovative theory of the brave embryologist was forgotten for a long time. Its further development continued after several decades, and was similar to the cinematic scenarios of Hollywood.