Effectively preparing soluble ovomucin with high antiviral activity from egg white

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Glycobiology
• Virology

Background:

• Ovomucin possesses significant bioactivities, making it industrially valuable.
• Challenges exist in isolating pure, soluble ovomucin without degradation or contamination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an improved method for high-purity ovomucin isolation.
• To characterize the antiviral properties of purified ovomucin.

Main Methods:

• A two-step precipitation technique was employed.
• Gel filtration chromatography was utilized for purification.
• Infrared spectroscopy and amino acid analysis were performed for characterization.

Main Results:

• High purity ovomucin (99.13%) was obtained with a yield of 3.02 µg/kg.
• Purified ovomucin demonstrated significant antiviral activity against LaSota, Mukteswar, and V-4 virus strains.
• Limited reduction in hemagglutination inhibition activity was observed post-purification.
• Spectroscopic and amino acid analyses confirmed extensive glycosylation, sulfation, and a typical mucin amino acid profile.

Conclusions:

• The improved isolation process yields pure ovomucin with potent antiviral activity.
• This method offers a viable alternative for producing high-quality ovomucin for further bioactivity research.
• The findings support the potential of ovomucin as an antiviral agent.