Acta Pharm. 65 (2015) 473-479

 

full paper

Short communication

 

Fractionation and evaluation of proteins in roots of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench

GABRIELE BALCIUNAITE, JOVITA JUODSNUKYTE, ARUNAS SAVICKAS, ONA RAGAZINSKIENE, LUKA SIATKUTE, GITANA ZVIRBLYTE, EDITA MISTINIENE and NIJOLE SAVICKIENE

savickienenijole@takas.lt

1 Department of Pharmacognosy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania

2 Institute of Biotechnology, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania

3 Department of Social Pharmacy and Drug Technology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania

4 Kaunas Botanical Garden of Vytautas Magnus University Kaunas, Lithuania

Accepted july 14, 2015

 

Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench, a member of the Asteraceae family, is a plant rich in flavonoids, essential oils, phenolic compounds, saponins, polysaccharides and glycoproteins. The aim of the study was to evaluate the protein content in dried roots of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench after homogenization of roots with liquid nitrogen, extraction in 0.01 mol L–1 phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and purification followed by fractionation of proteins using gel filtration chromatography. Total concentration of proteins was measured using the Bradford method, and evaluation of the molecular mass of proteins was accomplished by applying the SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis. The Bradford assay revealed that the highest concentration of proteins in fractions collected after gel filtration chomatography was 4.66–6.07 mg mL–1. Glycoproteins, alkamides and polysaccharides in roots of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench are chemical compounds responsible for their immunomodulatory properties. However, information about the difference of protein contents in fresh and dried roots of E. purpurea is insufficient.

 

Keywords: Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench, proteins, gel filtration chromatography, SDS-PAGE