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L-Asparaginase (EC 3.5. 1.1.), also known as L-asparagine amidohydrolase is the enzyme with anti-tumor activity and is well accepted as a chemotherapeutic agent against the acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphosarcoma. This article has briefly touched nearly all the industrial and clinical aspects of L-Asparaginase and provides the recent update of the topic. The article includes a brief introduction to the topics, mechanism of action, a little information about the structure, sources of enzyme, purification, optimum conditions for the enzyme production, recombinant strains for higher productivity and formulation of the enzyme.

INTRODUCTION: A remarkable achievement in the field of medicine was the development of the L-Asparaginase enzyme as an effective antitumor agent. It was demonstrated by the Mashburn et al.,(1964) 1 that the L-Asparaginase produced by the bacteria E. coli possesses the same antitumor activity as recovered from the guinea pig serum.