Isolation and amino-acid composition of the adipokinetic hormone of Manduca sexta.

An adipokinetic hormone was purified from corpora cardiaca of au adult Manduca sexta (tobacco hornworm)by reversed-phased high performance liquid chromatography. The following amino-acid composition was determined: 2 Thr, 2 Ser, Glx, Gly, Leu, Phe, Trp. The adipokinetic activity was tested in adult Manduca. In a bioassay in which activation of fat body glycogen phosphorylase was measured in ligated larvae, the hormone elicited a maximal response at the same concentration as it did in the bioassay for hyperlipaemic activity.