Planta Med. 2003 Mar; 69(3): 269-71.

Radical scavenging glycoprotein inhibiting cyclooxygenase-2 and thromboxane A2 synthase from aloe vera gel.

Yagi A, Kabash A, Mizuno K, Moustafa SM, Khalifa TI, Tsuji H.

Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Fukuyama University, Gakuen-Cho, Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. yagi@fupharm.fukuyama-u.ac.jp

An active glycoprotein fraction containing 58 % protein was isolated from Aloe vera gel by precipitation with 55 % ammonium sulfate followed by gel permeation using DEAE-Sephacel A-25, Sepharose 6B and Sephadex G-50 columns in a yield of 3 x 10 -3 %. The glycoprotein fraction showed a single band corresponding to a subunit of verectin at the same position when stained with both Coomassie brilliant blue and periodic acid-Schiff reagents on 18 % SDS-PAGE. The molecular weight (14 kDa) was confirmed by Sephadex G-50 column chromatography. The glycoprotein fraction showed a radical scavenging activity against superoxide anion generated by the xanthine-xanthine oxidase system as well as inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 and reduction of thromboxane A 2 synthase level in vitro.