Primary purification of two antifungal proteins from leaves of the fig (Ficus carica L.)

Abstract

Low-molecular-weight extracts of fig (Ficus carica L.) leaves has antifungal and antibacterial activities against several types of microorganisms. In this work, two high-molecular-weight fractions with antifungal activity, termed figinI and figinII were obtained from leaves of fig using a procedure including ion-exchange chromatography (SP-Sepharose Fast Flow), hydrophobic-interaction chromatography (Phenyl Sepharose 6 Fast Flow and RESOURCE ISO) and ion-exchange chromatography (Mono S). By matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis (MALDI-TOF MS), the molecular mass of figinI was 21531Da and figinII was 31957Da. This is the first report on isolation of antifungal proteins from F. carica L., and it shows their potential for further investigation.

Key word: Fig, antifungal protein, chromatography, natural food  preservative.