Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the extraction conditions and some characteristics of lectin from walnut(Juglans regia) kernel. The results indicated that the agglutinating activity (Aa) could accurately reflect blood agglutinationefficiency. Crude lectin with strong hemagglutination activity was obtained from walnut kernel by extraction with phosphate buffer solution (PBS) at pH 7.4 for 24 h followed by fractional precipitation with 70% (NH4)2SO4. The lectin could agglutinate A, B, O and AB types of red blood cells without blood type specificity. The hemagglutination activity could be inhibited by saccharide derivatives, but not by monose or oligose. The lectin from walnut kernel was temperature-insensitive,and showed a broad reaction pH range (5.0–8.0). Thehemagglutination activity of walnut kernel lectin from Baokexiang cultivar was the strongest among five tested walnut cultivars, which showed an Aa of 0.478.

Key words: walnut (Juglans regia), lectin, activity, characterization