The proteinase inhibitors are proteins extensively investigated in tissue storage, but few prospected in other plant tissues. The aim of this study was to detect the presence of serine proteinase inhibitors in leaf extracts from fifteen species of leguminous trees of the Amazon forest. The species studied were Caesalpinia echinata, C. ferrea, Cedrelinga cateniformis, Copaifera multijuga, Dinizia excelsa, Enterolobium contortisiliquum, E. maximum, E. schomburgkii, Leucaena leucocephala, Ormosia paraensis, Parkia multijuga, P. pendula, P. platycephala, Swartzia corrugata and S. polyphylla. Leaves were collected, dried at 30ºC for 48 h, crushed and subjected to extraction with NaCl (0.15 M, 10% w/v), resulting in the total extract. Tests were performed to determine the concentration of proteins and to detect of inhibitory activity against bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin. The content of crude and soluble protein in leaf extracts varied from 7.9 to 31.2% and 1.3 to 14.8%, respectively. The inhibitory activity on trypsin and chymotrypsin was observed in all leaf extracts. However, in extracts of E. maximum, L. leucocephala, P. pendula, S. corrugata and S. polyphylla, the inhibition was greater on trypsin, while extract of P. multijuga was more effective against chymotrypsin. We conclude that leaf extracts of leguminous trees have serine proteinase inhibitors and show potential biotecnological applications.
Chymotrypsin; proteins; tree species; trypsin
