Biochemical characterisation of lectin from wild chickpea (Cicer reticulatum L.) with potential inhibitory action against human cancer cells

A wild chickpea lectin (WCL) from the seeds of Cicer reticulatum L. was chromato‐purified using DEAE‐Cellulose and SP‐Sephadex ion exchange chromatography. WCL was thermostable upto 60°C with broad pH optima (pH 5–9) and various divalent metal ions did not influence its activity. WCL demonstrated DNA protection in a dose‐dependent manner. The lectin exerted antifungal activity against diverse fungal pathogens. WCL augmented the mitogenic response of mouse spleen cells at 10 µg/ml concentration and showed an inhibition of HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase at IC50 of 200 µM. Against human cancer cell lines, lectin demonstrated anticancer potential. The cell viability assay in HepG2, Ishikawa, MCF‐7 and MDA‐MB‐231 cell line demonstrated IC50 values of 61.8, 54.4, 37.5 and 44.2 µg/ml respectively. Practical applications WCL exhibited distinct medicinal properties vis‐à‐vis antiproliferative, mitogenic, antifungal/bacterial and HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase inhibiting activities. The potential of WCL can be a subject of exploration from a pharmacological standpoint.