Antimicrobial activity of protease inhibitor from leaves of Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt.

Antimicrobial activity of protease inhibitor isolated from Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt. has been reported. A 14.3 kDa protease inhibitor (PI) was isolated and purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation (20-85% saturation), sephadex G-75, DEAE sepharose column and trypsin-sepharose affinity chromatography from the leaves of C. grandis. The purity was checked by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. PI exhibited marked growth inhibitory effects on colon cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. PI was thermostable and showed antimicrobial activity without hemolytic activity. PI strongly inhibited pathogenic microbial strains, including Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, Eschershia coli, Bacillus subtilis and pathogenic fungus Candida albicans, Mucor indicus, Penicillium notatum, Aspergillus flavus and Cryptococcus neoformans. Examination by bright field microscopy showed inhibition of mycelial growth and sporulation. Morphologically, PI treated fungus showed a significant shrinkage of hyphal tips. Reduced PI completely lost its activity indicating that disulfide bridge is essential for its protease inhibitory and antifungal activity. Results reported in this study suggested that PI may be an excellent candidate for development of novel oral or other anti-infective agents.