Studies on anticoagulant constituents in dried Whitmania pigra
Zhong, S.; Yang, D.-p.; Cui, Z.
Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi 33(23): 2781-2784
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 1001-5302 PMID: 19260310 Document Number: 615813
To study the anticoagulant constituents in dried leech (Whitmania pigra Whitman). The plasma recalcification time (PRT) as index, the constituents with anticoagulant activity were isolated and purified by anion-exchange chromatography on Sephadex DEAE A-50, gel permeation chromatography on Sephadex G-25 and Sephadex LH-20 columns, and then reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography successively. Three anticoagulant polypeptides were isolated and purified. Compounds 1 and 2 can be translated each other in natural conditions, and their molecular weights are 7100 and 5531, respectively. Compound 3 was identified as a pure polypeptide by HPLC and SDS-PAGE, and its molecular weight was determined as 8 608 by MALDI-TOF-MS. The amino acid composition of compound 3 was also determined. Compound 3 was inferred to be a novel anticoagulant, and named whitmanin.