Bioprospecção de lectinas em sementes de Bauhinia divaricata L.

Abstract

Lectins are unique and ubiquitous proteins characterized by their ability to selectively bind to specific carbohydrate residues without altering their structure. The sugar-binding properties of lectins illustrated that their activity extends beyond the hemagglutination of cells, having great potential for biotechnological applications, including antimicrobial action. Among many activities of scientific interest, the antibacterial activity is reported for legume lectins, presenting high potential as an antimicrobial agent, and therefore the action of these biomolecules against pathogenic bacteria is addressed. This work presents a bioprospecting study with a species belonging to the genus Bauhinia, in which the lectins already studied have several promising applications. Bauhinia divaricata L. is a popularly used medicinal plant, in which a screening was carried out to evaluate the presence of lectins in protein extracts and the best condition for extracting these proteins. The present work indicated the presence of hemagglutinating activity in the protein extracts, evidencing the best condition of extraction in acidic pH. New studies may help in obtaining a better activity with other erythrocytes for the lectins from the extract of B. divaricata, and also help in characterization, purification and future biological activity assays.