Abstract

Curcuma comosa Roxb., belongs to Zingiberaceae family, is used in folk medicine to relieve postpartum uterine inflammation. The crude protein from C. comosa was assayed to find some interesting bioactivities. The hemagglutination activity assay was performed with erythrocytes from seven different species, and revealed a strong specificity towards rabbit erythrocytes only. After isolation by Concanavalin A (Con A) affinity column chromatography and likely identification by tryptic peptide tandem mass spectrometry, two separate proteins with homology to other plant lectins were found. The free radical scavenging capacity and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme activity were used to determine any potential antioxidant activity. The results suggested that there were three different SODs in the crude rhizome protein extract. These enzymes were stable over a wide range of temperatures (up to 80°C) which may make them useful for further applications. In addition, alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity also was found in this plant.

Key words: Hemagglutination, antioxidant, superoxide dismutase, alpha-glucosidase inhibition, Curcuma comosa.