USE OF PLANT EXTRACTS ON THE STUDY OF AGGLUTINATION REACTIONS ON RBC ANTIGENS

Animals and plants contain numerous carbohydrate binding proteins of non-immune origin called lectins with the ability to recognize specific sugars existing on cell surface. These lectins have attracted great interest due to their various physiological roles in cell agglutination. Rhesus (Rh) factor is an inherited protein found on the surface of red blood cells. If RBC has the surface protein, it is Rh positive in nature else as Rh-negative in nature. In this project we study the effect of thirty-six various cold water and hot water extracted plants on RBC antigens using agglutination reactions as an alternative to commercial monoclonal antibodies. Plant lectins are widely used for the detection, segregation and characterization of glycoconjugates based on their carbohydrate binding properties. Extensive study of sequence homology and 3-D structure of various plant lectins suggests that they are conserved throughout evolution and thus may play, yet unknown, important physiological roles. Some of the lectins are significant reagents for identification of cell surface receptors in various bacteria, protozoa, and higher organisms.