ISOLATION OF LECTIN FROM URTICA DIOICA AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN INDUSTRY

Аннотация

Urtica dioica agglutinin (UDA) is a unique small-molecular-weight lectin isolated from stinging nettle rhizomes that exhibits extraordinary carbohydrate-binding specificity for N-acetylglucosamine oligomers and chitin-containing structures. This review examines the isolation methodologies for UDA extraction and purification, with emphasis on chromatographic techniques employing chitin affinity columns and optimized extraction protocols. The industrial significance of UDA spans diverse applications including pharmaceutical drug delivery systems, antifungal treatments, antiviral therapeutics, biosensor development, and food preservation technologies. Current isolation methods achieve high purity through acid extraction followed by chitin affinity chromatography on Sepharose matrices, with yields significantly enhanced by optimized pH conditions and column dimensions.