Purification of a lectin from Eugenia uniflora L. seeds and its potential antib...

• Author(s): Oliveira, M. D. L. ; Andrade, C. A. S. ; Magalhães, N. S. ; Coelho, L. C. B. B. ; Teixeira, J. A. ; Cunha, M. G. C. ; Correia, M. T. S.
• Date: 2008
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/7754
• Origin: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
• Subject(s): Antibacterial lectin; Bacteria; Eugenia uniflora; Eugenia uniflora seed; Lectin; Lectin purification
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

Aims: The aim of this work was to analyse the antimicrobial properties of a purified lectin from Eugenia uniflora L. seeds. Methods and Results: The E. uniflora lectin (EuniSL) was isolated from the seed extract and purified by ion-exchange chromatography in DEAE-Sephadex with a purification factor of 11·68. The purified lectin showed a single band on denaturing electrophoresis, with a molecular mass of 67 kDa. EuniSL agglutinated rabbit and human erythrocytes with a higher specificity for rabbit erythrocytes. The haemagglutination was not inhibited by the tested carbohydrates but glycoproteins exerted a strong inhibitory action. The lectin proved to be thermo resistant with the highest stability at pH 6·5 and divalent ions did not affect its activity. EuniSL demonstrated a remarkable nonselective antibacterial activity. EuniSL strongly inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella sp. with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1·5 μg ml−1, and moderately inhibited the growth of Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus sp. and Escherichia coli with a MIC of 16·5 μg ml−1. Conclusions: EuniSL was found to be effective against bacteria. Significance and Impact of the Study: The strong antibacterial activity of the studied lectin indicates a high potential for clinical microbiology and therapeutic applications.