Purification and partial characterization of a protein proteinanse inhibitor isolated from eggplant exocarp

A protein proteinase inhibitor was isolated and purified from eggplant exocarp by heat treatment, ammomium sulfate fractionation, column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, and gel filtration on Sephadex G-25 and G-50. The final purified preparation of the inhibitor was found homogeneous by electrophoretic analysis. The inhibitor showed strong and stoichiometric inhibition on trypsin whereas it showed weak inhibition on alpha-chymotrypsin. It displayed no inhibiting characteristics on pepsin. The molecular weight of the inhibitor was estimated to be approximately 6000. This finding, with the trypsin inhibition data, suggested that the inhibitor combined trypsin in the molar ratio of 1:1. The amino acid analysis indicated that the inhibitor is rich in half-cystine, glycine and aspartic acid, and contains no tryptophan, histidine, methionine or valine.