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Coagulant Activity of Water-Soluble Moringa oleifera Lectin Is Linked to Lowering of Electrical Resistance and Inhibited by Monosaccharides and Magnesium Ions

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Abstract

Moringa oleifera seeds contain a water-soluble lectin [water-soluble M. oleifera lectin (WSMoL)] that has shown coagulant activity. Magnesium ions are able to interfere with the ability of this lectin to bind carbohydrates. In this study, we performed structural characterization of WSMoL and analyzed its effect on the electrical resistance of a kaolin clay suspension in both presence and absence of monosaccharides (N-acetylglucosamine, glucose, or fructose) and magnesium ions. The coagulant activity of WSMoL was monitored by measuring optical density and electrical resistance over a period of 60 min. Native WSMoL had a molecular mass of 60 kDa and exhibited anionic nature (pI 5.5). In sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), it appeared as three polypeptide bands of 30, 20, and 10 kDa. WSMoL reduced the optical density and electrical resistance of the kaolin suspension, which suggests that suspended particles are destabilized and that this is followed by formation of complexes. The coagulant activity of lectin decreased in the presence of Mg2+ ions and carbohydrates at concentrations that also inhibited hemagglutinating activity. This was most likely due to conformational changes in lectin structure. Our findings suggest that the coagulant activity of WSMoL is enhanced by lowering of electrical resistance of the medium and is impaired by lectin–carbohydrate and lectin–Mg2+ interactions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express their gratitude to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), for research grants and fellowship (L.C.B.B. Coelho, M.D.L. Oliveira, and P.M.G. Paiva), to the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), and to the Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE) for research grants. K.S. Moura would like to thank CNPq for graduate scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-420, Brazil

    Kézia Santana de Moura, Hugo Rafael Chaves da Silva, Leonardo Prezzi Dornelles, Luana Cassandra Breitenbach Barroso Coelho, Thiago Henrique Napoleão, Maria Danielly Lima de Oliveira & Patrícia Maria Guedes Paiva

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  1. Kézia Santana de Moura
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  2. Hugo Rafael Chaves da Silva
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  3. Leonardo Prezzi Dornelles
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Correspondence to Patrícia Maria Guedes Paiva.

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de Moura, K.S., da Silva, H.R.C., Dornelles, L.P. et al. Coagulant Activity of Water-Soluble Moringa oleifera Lectin Is Linked to Lowering of Electrical Resistance and Inhibited by Monosaccharides and Magnesium Ions. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 180, 1361–1371 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-016-2172-y

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