ENZYMES OF MICROBIAL ORIGIN FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES

voted to the study of the possibility of using enzymes in medicine is increasing. Products of the biosynthesis of microorganisms, as well as extracts of animal and plant origin are sources for the production of enzymes. Most promising for mass use, both in medicine and in light and food industries, as well as in agriculture, should be considered to Be the enzymes obtained from microorganisms, in view of the unlimited access to initial raw materials and the great possibilities opened up by the selection and artificial mutagenesis of producers for the directed biosynthesis of definite enzymes or a group of enzymes in sufficiently high concentration. The industrial production of enzyme preparations has begun to be widely developed comparatively recently. Nonetheless, in certain countries, such as the United States, Japan, France, England, Denmark, Sweden, etc., there is already a large production of enzyme preparations, used in various areas of the national economy and medicine. The greatest influence in the therapeutic use of enzymes is due to their use for the treatment of wounds, hematomas, inflammatory foci, to dissolve vascular thrombi, for intrabronchial introduction in lung diseases, to replace an enzyme deficiency in the gastrointestinal tract, for the treatment of a number of viral diseases and malignant neoplasms, and also in dermatology -- in diseases accompanied by a disruption of the trophies, in gynecological practice, and in ophthalmology [i, 2]. Moreover, according to the data of G. Ya. Kivman et al., [3], proteolytic enzymes potentiate the action of antibiotics and sulfamide prepara~ tions when they are used jointly [3]. For this purpose, large firms of Japan, the United States, France, and Sweden manufacture highly purified enzyme preparations, produced as a result of the culturing of a number of microorganisms. What is the nomenclature of the preparations manufactured abroad? The bulk of them are proteases, amylases, lipases, cellulases, and drug forms based on them, chiefly used in antiinflammatory and replacement therapy. Nucleases ~DNase and RNase), l-asparaginase, collagenase, neuraminidase, hyaluronidase, alastase, dextranase, urate oxidase, ~galactosidase, and a number of other enzymes are produced in smaller volumes. It must be noted that the manufacture of enzymes abroad is characterized not only by a substantial quantitative increase each year, but also by qualitative variety, expressed in the production of the same enzyme in the form of preparations of different degrees of purity and activity. Such variety permits expansion of the sphere of application of enzymes in various areas and thereby an increase in the profitability of their production.