Biological properties of lectins purified from the leaves of some Philippine plants with reported wound-healing or insecticidal property

Professorial Chair Lecture

UPLB Faculty, Staff and Students Professorial Chair Lecture

Place

University of the Philippines Los Banos, College, Laguna

Date

5-9-2003

Abstract

Lectins are carbohydrate binding proteins or glycoproteins of non-immune origin that agglutinate cells or precipitate polysaccharides or glycoconjugates. The biological role of lectins in an organism depends largely on the nature of the organism. Plant lectins are generally considered to be involved in the plants' defense mechanism. Some plant lectins have anti-fungal or insecticidal properties while others have been implicated in the plant's wound-healing property. The Philippines abounds in plants whose leaves are reported to have either wound-healing or insecticidal property. Recently, lectins were purified and characterized from the leaves of Schefflera odorata (Blanco) Merr. and Rolfe, widely used for healing wounds, and from the leaves of Swietenia macrophylla King, reported to have insecticidal property. Investigation of these leaf lectins' possible biological properties is important in understanding their role in nature as well as in the development of new applications for lectins.

In this study, the leaf lectin from Schefflera odorata (Blanco) Merr. and Rolfe was found to have no anti-microbial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, S. saprophyticus and Escherichia coli. It was also found to have no toxic effect towards three-day old larvae C. albopictus. However, it was observed to have mitogenic activity against human peripheral lymphocytes. On the other hand, the Swietenia macrophylla King leaf lectin was not able to inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cerues, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa but exhibited toxic effects against the C. albopictus larvae after 24 hrs. This leaf lectin was also found to have mitogenic activity.

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Language

English

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