Abstract

ISOLATION AND PARTIAL PURIFICATION OF LECTIN FROM SEEDS OF CUCURBITA PEPO

Ravichandran P., Dr. Gowri S.* and Sundara Prasath S.

Abstract

Crude plant lectins were isolated from the seeds of Pumpkin seed (Cucurbita pepo). Lectins isolated were purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation and dialysis. The amount of proteins and carbohydrates present in crude extract and purified samples were estimated. Lectin was characterized by hemagglutination assay using human erythrocytes of A, B, AB and O groups and the specific activities were determined in crude and purified samples. The stability of the purified lectin samples was determined at various pH and temperature values. The ability of the lectins to bind the bacterial strains were analyzed with strains namely E.coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and S.aureus.

Keywords: Cucurbita pepo, Lectin, Isolation, Purification, Hemagluntination, Antibacterial activity.