Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Lectin Extracted from Fruiting Bodies of the Korean Cauliflower Medicinal Mushroom, Sparassis latifolia (Agaricomycetes)

In this article we describe the isolation and characterization of a novel lectin from fruiting bodies of the mushroom Sparassis latifolia. The antibacterial activity of the purified lectin against Escherichia coli and resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as the antifungal activity against Candida and Fusarium species were determined. Circular dichroism spectroscopy and the tryptophan blue shift assay indicated that the lectin interacts with microbial surfaces. This suggests the potential of the lectin isolated from S. latifolia, a valuable source of bioactive constituents, as a therapeutic in pharmaceutical agent.