Carbohydrate binding proteins are one among the least exploited natural product that could be a promising remedy for many problems faced by mankind these days including tumour. Less exploited doesn’t mean it’s less accessible, it’s a kind of protein that we could find in almost every living form. Functions of these proteins include cell adhesion, cellular signalling, glycoprotein synthesis etc. and there are things yet unknown about the protein class, Lectins. Possible uses of lectins include antibacterial actions, anti-fungal properties, blood group identification, and antiviral properties etc. This study is aimed to identify some Lectins from Marine algae which could give an insight in to the varieties of useful lectins in the priceless algae. The work was carried out in algae collected and freeze stored from second half of 2013. Positive control was Jacalin, extracted from jackfruit seeds. Initial steps are similar to common protein purification which includes homogenisation, ammonium sulphate precipitation and dialysis. SDS PAGE was used as the qualitative and Bradford assay as the quantitative tool for the proteins. The crude sample thus prepared was then subjected to primary screening by hemagglutination to check the presence of lectins. Affinity of these lectins towards various sugars was monitored by haemagglutination inhibition assay. As a bonus, we could isolate coloured proteins from few algal samples which yet to be characterised.
