Amounts Of Sulfur-containing Amino Acids Research Articles

Increased sulfur-containing amino acid content and altered conformational characteristics of soybean proteins by rebalancing 11S and 7S compositions.

Soybean proteins are limited by their low contents of methionine and cysteine. Herein, 7S globulin accumulation was reduced using RNA interference to silence CG-β-1 expression, and the content of the A2B1a subunit was largely increased under the soybean seed-specific oleosin8 promoter. The results showed that the sulfur-containing amino acid content in soybean seeds drastically improved, reaching 79.194 nmol/mg, and the 11S/7S ratio had a 1.89-fold increase compared to the wild-type acceptor. The secondary structures of 11S globulin were also altered, and the β-sheet content increased with decreasing β-turn content, which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and circular dichroism analysis. Our findings suggested that raising the accumulation of 11S glycinin at the expense of reducing the content of 7S globulin is an attractive and precise engineering strategy to increase the amount of sulfur-containing amino acids, and soybean proteins with A2B1a subunits of 11S isolates improved, and β-subunits of 7S fractions reduced simultaneously might be an effective new material for food production.

Safety of mung bean protein as a novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283.

Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on mung bean protein as a novel food (NF) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. The NF, which is the subject of the application, is mung bean protein extracted from seeds of the plant Vigna radiata. The NF is proposed to be used as a food ingredient added to ‘protein products, excluding products covered in category 1.8’. The target population is the general population. The maximum estimated intake of the NF is 758 and 260 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day in children and adults, respectively. The major constituents of this NF are protein (~85%), fat (3–4%) and moisture (3–5.5%). The NF is rich in protein which is well digestible and provides sufficient amounts of most essential amino acids but only limited amounts of sulfur‐containing amino acids. The Panel notes that the cumulative exposure to the minerals analysed does not raise concern. The reported values for the levels of antinutritional factors in the NF are comparable to those in other foodstuffs. The Panel considers that taking into account the composition of the NF and the proposed conditions of use, consumption of the NF is not nutritionally disadvantageous. No toxicological studies with the NFs were provided by the applicant; however, the Panel considers that no toxicological studies are required on this NF. This NF has the potential capacity to sensitise individuals and to induce allergic reactions in individuals allergic to soybean, peanuts, lupin and to birch pollen. The Panel considers that the NF, i.e. mung bean protein, is safe at the proposed conditions of use.

The use of cryopowder from seafood in the technology of thermostatic yogurt for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes

The basis of the technology of functional foods, as is known, is the presence of high content of nutrients, the ability to influence certain parts of the potential consumer. Fermented milk products in this regard are natural representatives of this group. The use of sour milk drinks with phytonutrients of different physical state will contribute not only to additional profits due to the sale of new biologically valuable and very important for public health products, but also to solve such an important problem of all food companies as complex processing of raw materials. related environmental issues. Taking into account the relevance of the topic, research was planned to study the possibility of using a new domestic cryoadditive – cryopowder “Morska Kapusta” in the technology of such a popular sour milk drink as yogurt. Scientific research was conducted in the scientific laboratory of the Department of Milk Technology and Dairy Products of Stepan Gzhytskyi National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnologies Lviv and in production. Formulations of thermostatic yoghurts (1.5 %) with cryopowder of domestic production “Morska Kapusta” were developed and proposed for industrial production. The technological scheme of production of thermostatic yoghurts (mchzh 1.5 %) with cryopowder of domestic production “Morska Kapusta” is offered. The main organoleptic and technological characteristics of thermostatic yogurts (1.5 %) with cryopowder of domestic production “Morska Kapusta” were studied. Experimental samples of thermostatic yogurts (1.5 % weight) with cryopowder of domestic production “Morska Kapusta” had high levels of all regulatory vitamins. The proposed types of thermostatic yogurts (1.5 %) with cryopowder “Morska Kapusta” are characterized by an increase in the amount of sulfur-containing amino acids (methionine + cystine) and tryptophan, and the lack of limiting amino acids in the combined sample of yogurt indicates an increase in biological value. Prototypes of thermostatic yogurts (1.5 %) with cryopowder of domestic production “Morska Kapusta” retained the technological characteristics and regulatory safety indicators during the standard storage time.

Relationship between the level of blood plasma amino acids with daily amount of group ventricular extrasystoles and the duration of pain or painless myocardial ischemia in patients with stable and unstable angina

It is now known that the human body suffering from coronary heart disease is trying to adapt to new working conditions through biochemical rearrangements, one of which is to increase the involvement of amino acids in car diomyocyte metabolism. Amino acids are metabolized in the myocardium under normal conditions, myocardial ischemia leads to a major restructuring of biochemical reactions, which increases the use of amino acids as metabolites. It is proved that myocardial ischemia, painless myocardial ischemia, and group ventricular extrasystoles are prognostic indicators of the adverse course of ischemic heart disease. According to the results of the study, in patients with stable (SA) or unstable angina (UA), the reliable correlations between the frequency of group ventricular extrasystoles and painless or painful myocardial ischemia with the levels of arginine, the amount of sulfur-containing amino acids and amino acids with branched lateral chain are formed. This indicates the pathogenetic role of the imbalance of the amino acid spectrum of blood plasma in the development of atherosclerosis, destabilization of coronary circulation, and the emergence of cardiac arrhythmia.

Development of amino acid balanced food systems based on wheat flour and oilseed meal

The analysis of the main methods of increasing the nutritional and biological value of wheat flour has been conducted. Considerable attention is paid to the issue of adjusting the protein content in flour due to additives. The relevance of improving the amino acid composition of flour protein is emphasized. The feasibility of comprehensive studies for the development of food system formulations with a balanced amino acid composition based on wheat flour and oilseed meal is substantiated. The amino acid content has been experimentally determined and the biological value of raw materials proteins for food systems which are sunflower and soybean meal has been calculated. The mixture composition of sunflower and soybean meal with an improved amino acid composition has been scientifically substantiated. It has been found that the protein composition of the meal mixture is maximally close to the reference in terms of the content of leucine, lysine and the amount of sulfur-containing amino acids (methionine, cystine). The score of isoleucine, tryptophan, phenylalanine and tyrosine in the protein composition of oilseed meal is 1.1–1.47 times higher than the reference. The amino acid composition has been calculated and the biological value of the protein of food systems containing 80–90 % wheat flour and 10–20 % composition of soybean and sunflower meal with improved amino acid composition has been determined. It has been found that the formulation of the food system containing 20 % of the composition of meal mixture and 80 % of wheat flour has the greatest biological value in comparison with wheat flour. In this food system, the limited amino acids – lysine and sulfur-containing (methionine and cystine) are the closest to the reference one and are 67.68 % and 70.12 %. The fatty acid composition has been experimentally determined. The biological effectiveness of the fats of the developed food systems has been calculated. The closest to the fatty acid ratio recommended by nutritionists is the food system with a ratio of meal mixture: wheat flour of 20:80. The resulting formulations of food systems will be useful in technologies of flour products with high biological value.

Physicochemical and functional characteristics of plant protein‐based meat analogs

Isolated soy protein (ISP), isolated mung bean protein (IMBP), isolated peanut protein (IPNP), isolated pea protein (IPP), and wheat gluten (WG) were texturized by (50%) intermediate moisture extrusion for comparing product characteristics. High water-holding capacity was observed in ISP- and IPP-based texturized vegetable proteins (TVPs), while high integrity index was exhibited in IPP- and WG-based TVPs. ISP-, IPP-, and WG-based TVPs indicated high textural properties, whereas IMBP- and IPNP-based TVPs presented low rehydration and textural properties. The amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids of ISP, IPP, and WG increased after extrusion. The lowest essential amino acids content was found in WG-based TVP. ISP- and IPP-based TVPs displayed more sponge-like structure than those other proteins. Protein solubility of TVPs was significantly lower than that of their raw materials. Our findings reveal that the desired meat analog with high potential in physicochemical and functional characteristics under intermediate moisture extrusion among TVPs is IPP-based TVP. Practical applications It is well-known that soybean protein and wheat gluten (WG) were widely used for producing a texturized vegetable protein (TVP). However, soybean protein and WG have limitations as food allergen and imbalance of essential amino acids, respectively. Thus, mung bean protein, peanut protein, and pea protein were chosen for this study. From the results, it could be possible to develop a new generation of TVP from pea protein instead of soybean protein and WG for future human diets.

Metabolic Profiling of Developing Pear Fruits Reveals Dynamic Variation in Primary and Secondary Metabolites, Including Plant Hormones.

Metabolites in the fruits of edible plants include sweet sugars, visually appealing pigments, various products with human nutritional value, and biologically active plant hormones. Although quantities of these metabolites vary during fruit development and ripening because of cell division and enlargement, there are few reports describing the actual dynamics of these changes. Therefore, we applied multiple metabolomic techniques to identify the changes in metabolite levels during the development and ripening of pear fruits (Pyrus communis L. ‘La France’). We quantified and classified over 250 metabolites into six groups depending on their specific patterns of variation during development and ripening. Approximately half the total number of metabolites, including histidine and malate, accumulated transiently around the blooming period, during which cells are actively dividing, and then decreased either rapidly or slowly. Furthermore, the amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids also increased in pear fruits around 3–4 months after the blooming period, when fruit cells are enlarging, but virtually disappeared from ripened fruits. Some metabolites, including the plant hormone abscisic acid, accumulated particularly in the receptacle prior to blooming and/or fruit ripening. Our results show several patterns of variation in metabolite levels in developing and ripening pear fruits, and provide fundamental metabolomic data that is useful for understanding pear fruit physiology and enhancing the nutritional traits of new cultivars.

Accumulation of PrLeg, a perilla legumin protein in potato tuber results in enhanced level of sulphur-containing amino acids

Potato is the fourth staple food in the world, following rice, wheat, and maize, whereas tubers contain high quality of starch, relatively high amounts of vitamin C and many other important substances. It also contains relatively good quality of protein (about 3 to 6% of the dried weight) and patatin, and 11S globulin is a major storage protein with high level of lysine. However, tuber protein contains relatively low amounts of sulphur-containing amino acids, which may result in low nutritional value. Recently, we cloned a gene encoding PrLeg polypeptide, a seed storage protein from perilla, which contains relatively higher levels of sulphur-containing amino acids. We transformed PrLeg cDNA into a potato plant to over-express under the direction of the tuber-specific promoter, patatin. Most of the transgenic lines identified through PCR and RT–PCR analyses were able to accumulate high amount of prLeg transcript in their tuber tissue, while very little or no transcript that were detected in their leaf tissues. The level of methionine content was elevated up to three-fold compared to non-transgenic parental line, without any significant changes in other amino acids, suggesting that further research is required to get a deeper insight into their nutritional value.

Functions of Sulfur-Containing Amino Acids in Lipid Metabolism

It is known that plasma lipid levels are controlled not only by dietary fat and carbohydrate but also by dietary protein and amino acids. Although it used to be thought that the source of protein was important, it is known that amino acid composition, amino acids themselves, and peptides from digested protein are more important than the protein source. Sulfur-containing amino acids (SAAs) are recognized to be some of the most potent modulators of lipid metabolism among amino acids. It has been demonstrated that SAAs have an increasing effect on HDL (high-density lipoprotein)-cholesterol and a decreasing effect on VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein)-cholesterol. These data lead us to propose that SAAs have some beneficial functions against atherosclerotic diseases and metabolic syndrome. Relative availability of SAAs (RASAA) as well as the amount of SAAs in dietary protein would determine lipid metabolism. Therefore, we propose RASAA as a feasible index for improvement of lipid metabolism by amino acids. Although it is not clear how SAAs influence gene expression and lipid metabolism at a molecular level, SAAs change the metabolic pathway through transcriptional stimulation and posttranslational modification of regulatory proteins.

Selection and Characterization of ʟ-Ethionine Resistant Mutants of Trichosporon cutaneum

Trichosporon cutaneum R57 and its L-ethionine resistant mutant NZ94 strain were investigated. The amino acid analyses of cell content of both strains were carried out. The pool of free methionine in the mutant strain is enhanced 16.5 times. The total amount of sulphur-containing amino acids in the mutant cells was significantly increased from 36.8 in the wild strain to 113.4 mg/g protein in the mutant strain. In the process of mutant strain cultivation there was found a high excretion of free methionine (259 microg/ml) in the medium. It was shown that the amino acid content of both wild and mutant strains would be helpful for formulating of new improved animal nutritional diets.

Nutritional improvement of feather protein by treatment with microbial keratinase

Chicken feather hydrolysate was produced by proteolysis with a keratinolytic bacterium. Feather hydrolysate was produced by using the whole culture on 60 g feathers/l (WCH), or alternatively, using only the culture supernatant of cultivation on 10 g feathers/l (CSH). The amino acid composition of the resulting hydrolysates was determined, indicating deficiency in methionine, lysine and histidine. CSH showed higher amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids than WCH. In vitro digestibility with pepsin plus pancreatin was evaluated. WCH had lower digestibility than soy protein, but higher than feather meal and milled raw feathers. CSH had similar digestibility than casein and soy protein. Predicted nutritional parameters for WCH, CSH and feather meal were calculated. WCH showed higher predicted values of protein efficiency ratio (PER) and biological value (BV) than CSH, which presented higher protein digestibility-corrected amino acid scoring (PDCAAS). These bacterial feather hydrolysates showed potential for utilization as ingredients in animal feed.

Comparative Effect of Soy Protein, Soy Isoflavones, and 17β-Estradiol on Bone Metabolism in Adult Ovariectomized Rats

This study provided a comprehensive investigation on the effect of soy protein and soy isoflavones on both calcium and bone metabolism in virgin adult rats. The measurements included bone histology, calcium kinetic modeling, calcium balance, bone densitometry, and whole body densitometry. Results confirmed the bone-preserving effect of estrogen but did not support a bone-sparing role of soy isoflavones. Several animal and short-term human studies have indicated that soy protein isolate enriched with isoflavones may be used as an alternative therapy to estrogen replacement therapy. However, none of the previous studies have investigated this estrogenic effect on both calcium and bone metabolism in animals or humans, which is essential in ascertaining the mode of action of isoflavones. This study was designed to determine the effects of soy protein versus isoflavones on calcium and bone metabolism in an ovariectomized rat model. Unmated 6-month-old ovariectomized and sham-operated female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to nine groups (16 rats/group) and pair-fed soy- or casein-based diets with or without isoflavones for 8 weeks. A reference group was administered estrogen through subcutaneous implants (20-35 pg/liter plasma). Bone densitometry, histomorphometry, and mechanical testing were used to study bone metabolism and quality. Calcium metabolism was studied using calcium tracer balance and kinetics. After ovariectomy, estrogen prevented bone loss in trabecular bone and suppressed formation on both trabecular and cortical bone surfaces. Isoflavones given as enriched soy protein isolate or supplements did not prevent trabecular bone loss. Combining isoflavones with estrogen had no additional benefits over estrogen alone. There were no differences in response to isoflavones caused by protein source. None of the treatments significantly affected either total Ca balance or (45)Ca absorption. However, soy protein showed significant effects on reducing urinary loss of Ca in animals, irrespective of isoflavone level, perhaps because of the lower amount of sulfur-containing amino acids in soy protein. Estrogen, but not isoflavones at the levels tested, suppressed bone remodeling in both trabecular and cortical bone after ovariectomy.

Protein classification of beach pea (Lathyrus maritimus L.)

Abstract Protein fractionation of whole seed, cotyledons and hulls of beach pea (Lathyrus maritimus L.) was carried out. Surface topography of pea protein isolates and protein fractions, as well as their polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), was studied. The nitrogen solubility of beach pea seed meal was minimum at pH 4.5. Globulin was the major protein fraction present and its content in whole seeds (57%), cotyledons (62%) and hulls (24%) of beach pea was lower than those of other common pea cultivars; the same was true for its albumin content. However, glutelin content in beach pea seed and its parts (cotyledons and hulls) was higher than those of other pea cultivars. The albumin fraction contained the highest amount of total sulphur-containing amino acids followed by glutelin, globulin and prolamine. The amount of sulphur-containing amino acids in beach pea protein fractions was higher than in other peas. Predicted biological value of albumin and glutelin fractions of beach pea was also higher than green pea and grass pea. Beach pea seed protein fractions showed different UV spectra from other pea cultivars. Protein isolate and protein fractions of beach pea seeds showed similar topographical characteristics to those of other peas. Major polypeptide bands in the range of 35–47 kDa in the protein isolate, as well as protein fractions for beach pea, were detected by PAGE.

A lectin from the thigh muscle of Rana tigerina

Lectin activity has been detected in the thigh muscle extracts of Rana tigerina, which was found to agglutinate both trypsinized and untrypsinized rabbit erythrocytes. The lectin has been purified to homogeneity by MEPBS (0.01 M phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.2) with 4 mM β-mercaptoethanol) buffer extraction of the tissue and affinity chromatography on acid-treated Sepharose 6B. The molecular weight ( M r) or the purified lectin was determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and gel filtration on Sephadex G-75, which gave values of15 500 ± 1000 and32 000 ± 1000, respectively; suggesting that the lectin is a dimer. Amino acid composition data of the lectin has revealed that it contains a high proportion of glycine and alanine, and low amounts of sulphur-containing amino acids. Hapten-inhibition study of this lectin has shown that it is galactose-specific. Hemagglutination activity of the lectin can also be inhibited by β-galactoside containing oligosaccharides.

Relevance of multiple soybean trypsin inhibitor forms to nutritional quality.

Trypsin inhibitors contribute to the antinutritional component of raw soybean meal by inhibiting vertebrate pancreatic serine proteinases in the small intestine, resulting in a range of deleterious physiological effects in the animal. The variation in the nutritional quality of soybean cultivars stems partly from wide-ranging levels of trypsin inhibitor, and from varying proportions of trypsin inhibitors of two classes--the Kunitz and the Bowman-Birk inhibitor classes. The latter class is better able to survive heat processing and digestion in the stomach. Some variation in cultivars also arises from the array of isoinhibitors present in the seed. The three Kunitz isoinhibitors, Ti(a), Ti(b) and Ti(c) differ by as much as 1000-fold in their interaction with bovine trypsin. The Bowman-Birk isoinhibitors differ not only in their extent of interaction with trypsin, but in their spectrum of inhibition of the other pancreatic enzymes, chymotrypsin and elastase. In this chapter, we look at twenty-two Bowman-Birk inhibitors from ten soybean cultivars and find at least twelve which are different enough in amino acid composition and/or inhibitor activity to be distinct protein species. Of these, three pairs are related by proteolytic digestion. Quite ironically, the Bowman-Birk inhibitors, and to some extent the Kunitz inhibitors, contribute to the nutritional quality of soybeans by virtue of their high cystine content which supplements the low or negligible amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids in the storage proteins that comprise the bulk of the protein reserve in the seed.

Effects of Low Protein Diets or Feed Restriction on Rat Lung Glutathione and Oxygen Toxicity

Male rats weighing 200–250 g were fed a 25% casein diet in restricted amounts or ad libitum or one of two low protein diets (3 and 0% casein) ad libitum. Decreased tolerance to hyperoxic stress was observed only in the rats fed low protein diets. These animals had a median death time of 49–50 h compared to 58–69 h for feed-restricted or normal control groups. Death was due to accelerated development of lung edema. Changes in total lung levels of glutathione reductase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase or catalase did not correlate with oxygen sensitivity. Lung glutathione levels were related to the amount of sulfur-containing amino acids in the diet and were depressed in the feed-restricted as well as the protein-restricted groups. However, feed restriction alone did not enhance oxygen toxicity. We conclude that a decrease in lung glutathione may be partially responsible for the increased oxygen sensitivity in the protein-deficient rats, but that other factors are necessary for explanation of the relative oxygen tolerance of the feed-restricted animals with reduced levels of glutathione in the lung.

Absorption and Tissue Distribution of Zinc, Iron and Copper by Rats Fed Diets Containing Lactalbumin, Soy and Supplemental Sulfur-Containing Amino Acids

Zinc, copper and iron utilization was examined in rats fed diets containing 30% lactalbumin (L); 30% soy assay protein (S) or 30% soy assay protein supplemented with 0.26% cysteine (SC), 0.45% methionine (SM), 0.26% cysteine and 0.45% methionine (SCM) or 0.71% cysteine (SXC). Diets L, SC and SCM contained equal amounts of cysteine; diets L, SM and SCM contained equal amounts of methionine; diets L, SCM, SXC contained equal amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids. Rats fed diet L had significantly higher levels of zinc in tibias, kidneys and plasma; higher levels of copper in kidneys; and higher levels of iron in tibias than rats fed diet S. Rats fed diet L also absorbed (apparent and true) significantly more zinc; excreted significantly more zinc of endogenous origin in the feces; and absorbed (apparent) significantly less copper than rats fed diet S. Rats fed the soy diets supplemented with sulfur-containing amino acids, especially diet SXC, tended to have elevated levels of zinc in their tibias and kidneys and greater apparent and true absorption of zinc than rats fed diet S. Rats fed diet SXC still had significantly lower zinc levels in tissue than rats fed diet L. Apparent absorption of zinc was similar among rats fed diets L, SCM and SXC.

Kwashiorkor: an electron histochemical study of the hair shaft.

Previous studies on hair in kwashiorkor have been equivocal regarding the normal or abnormal incorporation of amino acids into the hair shaft. In this study we have applied a sensitive electron histochemical technique to transverse sections of scalp hair from children with severe kwashiorkor in order to study its ultrastructure and the incorporation of sulphur-containing amino acids (cystine). We have found no evidence to support the idea that a protein deficient diet in the weaning or post-weaning period directly affects the distribution and relative amounts of sulphur-containing amino acids in the hair shaft in this disease.

Relative contributions of sulfur atoms of dietary cysteine and methionine to rat liver glutathione and proteins.

The relative contributions of sulfur atoms of dietary L-Cys and L-Met to the syntheses of proteins and GSH in rat liver were examined. 1) When the amount of sulfur-containing amino acids in L-Trp-deficient diets was fixed at 0.36%, incorporation of L-[35S]Cys into GSH was proportional to the amount of L-Cys administered, in the presence of L-Met in the diet. Incorporation of 35S from L-Met into GSH was lower than that from the same amount of L-Cys and became negligible in the presence of a large amount of L-Cys. 2) When rats were given L-Trp-deficient diet, more L-Cys was always incorporated into liver GSH than into proteins. But, when rats were given L-Trp-fortified diet containing more L-Met than L-Cys, more L-Cys was incorporated into liver proteins than into GSH. 3) Met-sulfur was preferentially incorporated into liver proteins with or without L-Trp. Its absolute incorporation into proteins was significantly greater in the presence of L-Trp than in its absence. 4) When the amount of L-Met in the diet was increased from 0.18 to 0.36 or 0.54%, incorporation of Met-sulfur into proteins increased proportionally, in the presence of 0.18% L-Cys. Unexpectedly, incorporation of L-Cys formed from L-Met into liver proteins was larger than that from L-[3H]Met itself. L-Cys formed from L-Met was incorporated into proteins more readily than L-Cys given as such. 5) When the amount of L-Met in the diet was increased from 0.18 to 0.54%, incorporation of Met-35S into GSH increased 8-fold. Even with a large excess of L-Met, L-Cys was invariably incorporated into GSH. 6) These results are consistent with the role of liver GSH as a reservoir of cysteine, as proposed by us.

ISOLATION AND GENERAL PROPERTIES OF LECTINS FROM THE BEAN (PHASEOLUS VALGARIS VAR. ROSINHA G2)

A purified lectin was prepared from 0.15 M NaCl extracts of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris var. Rosinha G2) by affinity chromatography on ConA-Sepharose followed by gel chromatography on Sephadex G-200. The haemagglutining material isolated by affinity chromatography (CII-Af) contained at least three active protein bands as shown by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. By chromatography on a Sephadex G-200 column, the (CII-Af) fraction gave only a major peak (CII-β) with haemagglutininating activity, which showed a single broad band on gel electrophoresis. Gel isoelectric focusing of the CII-β component gave a single active band in the pH range of 5.5–5.7. The purified lectin was a glycoprotein, containing 8.30% of neutral sugars (as mannose) and 2.12% of hexosamine (as glucosamine) and only trace amounts of sulphur-containing amino acids. The protein had a MW of 136,000 (6.9 S) with a Stokes radius of 43 A, a calculated diffusion constant (D20,w) of 5 times 10−7 cm2 s−1, and a partial specific volume (v) of 0.75 ml.g−1. From its frictional ratio f/fo = 1.3 and assuming a hydration capacity of 0.3 to 0.4 g of water/g of protein, the axial ratio for the lectin molecule would be in the range of 3–4 if a prolate ellipsoid of revolution is chosen as a model.