Isolation and characterization of beta-lipotropin from the pituitary gland of the ostrich, Struthio camelus.

Avian beta-lipotropin (beta-LPH) was purified from adenohypophyseal glands of the ostrich Struthio camelus by a procedure involving acid/acetone extraction, NaCl fractionation, CM-cellulose chromatography, Sephadex G-75 chromatography and paper electrophoresis (pH 6.7). The 90-amino acid peptide behaved as a single substance during polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing (pI of 6.0) and N-terminal analysis, the N-terminal amino acid being alanine. Ostrich beta-LPH exhibited lipolytic activity corresponding to an average minimal effective dose of 0.088 micrograms in rabbit adipose tissue.