Purification and properties of alpha-galactosidase from immature stalks of Saccharum officinarum (sugar cane).

The immature sugar cane stalks studied contained less than 7% sucrose, and showed the activities of enzymes such as invertase, alpha-galactosidase, alpha-mannosidase, beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase, beta-glucosidase, beta-xylosidase, and beta-galactosidase. The alpha-galactosidase was highly purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration on a Sephadex G-100 column, ionexchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, and CM-cellulose columns, and heat treatment (60 degrees C, 15 min) in the presence of 0.2 m D-galactose. In polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the purified enzyme was homogeneous, having a molecular weight of approximately 46,000. In gelfiltration, it was approximately 47,000. The activity was optimum at pH 4.5 and at 60 degrees C. The purified enzyme hydrolyzed p-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-galactopyranoside (Km, 0.83 mM; Vmax, 25.0 mumol/mg/min), raffinose (Km, 25.9 mM; Vmax, 15.4 mumol/mg/min), and stachyose (Km, 13.0 mM; Vmax 2.7 mumol/mg/min), in addition to melibiose, guar gum, and locust bean gum. The hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-galactopyranoside was markedly inhibited by HgCl2, AgNO3, p-chloromercuribenzoate (PCMB), L-ascorbic acid, melibiose, stachyose, and D-galactose. Also the purified enzyme showed a lectin activity with trypsinized erythrocytes.