Rye inhibitors of animal alpha-amylases show different specificities, aggregative properties and IgE-binding capacities than their homologues from wheat and barley.

Three new members of the alpha-amylase/trypsin-inhibitor family of cereal endosperm have been isolated from rye. N-terminal amino acid sequence comparison revealed that two of the purified proteins were the rye homologues of the barley monomeric inhibitor (BMAI-1) previously described, while the other rye protein corresponded to one of the subunits of the barley and wheat heterotetrameric inhibitors. However, the inhibitory specificities (active against human salivary alpha-amylase), aggregative behaviours (mainly as dimeric forms) and IgE-binding capacities (not recognized by sera from allergic patients) of the rye inhibitors were clearly different from those of their wheat and barley counterparts. These results indicate that homologous inhibitors may have distinctive properties in different cereal species.