Biological Activity of α-Galactoside Preparations from Lupinus angustifolius L. and Pisum sativum L. Seeds

Biological activity tests were performed on α-galactoside preparations obtained from Lupinus angustifolius L. cv. Mirela (alkaloid-rich) and Pisum sativum L. cv. Opal seeds. The studies included the following tests: acute toxicity, cytotoxic test, delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH), plaque-forming cell number (IgM-PFC), and influence on the growth of bifidobacteia and coliform presence in rat colon. Results of these studies showed that α-galactosides from lupin and pea seeds were essentially nontoxic. Their acute toxicity (LD50) in mice was >4000 mg kg-1 of body weight. α-Galactoside preparations were not cytotoxic for mouse thymocytes in vitro. The in vitro test shows that oligosaccharides from lupin and pea are utilized by selected beneficial colon bacterium strains. The in vivo experiment demonstrated that α-galactosides from legume significantly influenced the growth of bifidobacteria in rats colon. Simultaneously, the decrease of the coliform presence was observed. The chemical composition of the tested preparations had no significant effect on their biological activity. Keywords: α-Galactosides; lupin; pea; toxicity; immunotropic activity; bifidobacteria