title: Screening of Caatinga plants as sources of lectins and trypsin inhibitors.
abstract: Although it is one of the most threatened areas in the Earth, there are few studies on the biotechnological potential of the Caatinga. This work evaluated 36 extracts from 27 Caatinga plants for lectin and trypsin inhibitor activities. The presence of lectin was detected in 77.7% of samples by haemagglutinating assay. The highest values of specific haemagglutinating activity were found in extracts of leaves from Mimosa lewesii, Bauhinia acuruana and Manilkara rufula and in branches from Myracrodruon urundeuva. Trypsin inhibitor activity was detected in 63.9% of the tested extracts, strong inhibitory effect (>70%) being found in 11 samples. This work demonstrates that Caatinga is a potential source of bioactive plant proteins that can be isolated and studied for several applications. The biochemical prospecting of Caatinga is essential for collection of bioactive principles so as to add conservation value to the region.
authors.affiliation: a Departamento de Bioquímica , CCB, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Cidade Universitária , 50670-420 Recife , Pernambuco , Brazil.
authors.forename: José Hélton Vasconcelos
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Arcoverde
authors.forename: Aline de Souza
authors.initials: Ade S
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: Fernanda Pacífico de Almeida
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Neves
authors.forename: Bianca Paiva
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Dionízio
authors.forename: Emmanuel Viana
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Pontual
authors.forename: Patrícia Maria Guedes
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.forename: Thiago Henrique
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Napoleão
authors.forename: Maria Tereza dos Santos
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.forename: Márcia Vanusa
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Maria das Graças
authors.initials: Md
authors.lastname: Carneiro-da-Cunha
mesh_terms: D036481:Bauhinia / Q000737:chemistry; D037102:Lectins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D032129:Manilkara / Q000737:chemistry; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D031298:Mimosa / Q000737:chemistry; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D018515:Plant Leaves; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D014361:Trypsin Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D037102:Lectins; D010936:Plant Extracts; D014361:Trypsin Inhibitors
keywords: Caatinga; biochemical prospecting; lectin; plant proteins; protease inhibitor