A lectin from the seeds of Erythrina rubrinervia

Abstract

The isolation and characterization of a lectin from the seeds of Erythrina rubrinervia is presented. The galactose-specific lectin was purified by affinity chromatography on an allyl-galactoside polyacrylamide gel. The following properties were determined: Mr, number of subunits, carbohydrate content, hemagglutination, amino acid composition, metal content and pI. Extraction of the lectin in the presence of protease inhibitors did not change its chromatographic properties, Mr or electrofocusing pattern. A comparison of its properties with those of other Erythrina lectins show some differences.