Acta Pharm. 50 (2000) 39-48

Original scientific paper  
 

Cysteine proteinase inhibitors screening of fungal species growing in Slovenia

ALES MLINARIC,1*   SAMO KREFT,1   BORUT STRUKELJ,1  
ANDREJ UMEK1  and  TATJANA POPOVIC2

1Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 
2Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Received July 20, 1999      Accepted December 10, 1999

Ninety extracts obtained from fungi growing in Slovenia were screened for cysteine proteinase inhibitory activity using in vitro assay. Papain, human cathepsin B and human cathepsin H were the three enzymes used in this study. Our results suggest that at least two fungi from all the samples examined might contain substances with inhibitory activity. One fraction of the extract obtained from Cortinarius violaceus (L. Fr.) Fr. (Basidiomycotina) and two fractions of the extract obtained from Gloeophyllum odoratum (Wulf. Fr.) Imaz. (Basidiomycotina) exhibited the highest inhibitory activity and were selected for further investigation.


Keywords: fungi, cysteine proteinase inhibitors, screening, papain, cathepsins