ANTICOAGULANT AND FIBRINO(GENO)LYTIC PROTEASE FROM LEUCAS ASPERA

Leucas aspera is the medicinal plant commonly known as ‘Thumbai’ found all over India. It is being used in traditional medicine to treat cough, cold, diarrhea, inflammatory diseases, and paste of the plant that has been used to treat the wound to enhance the wound healing process. The plant is reported to have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antidiarrheal, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and insecticidal activities. The current study has been taken up to evaluate the aqueous extract of L. aspera leaves (LaLE) for its proteolytic activity and its role in the blood coagulation cascade. The concentration of protein in LaLE was estimated to be 1 mg/ml. The proteolytic activity was determined with a specific activity of 2.40 U/mg/ml. The protein banding profile was analyzed on SDS-PAGE. LaLE hydrolyzed fibrinogen, fibrin, and collagen (I and IV) in a dose-dependent manner. LaLE increased the clotting time in prothrombin time (PT) and recalcification time (RT) by 3.87- and 5.43-folds, respectively, indicating its potentiality as an anticoagulant protease. LaLE inhibited ADP-induced platelet aggregation by 2.38-folds, suggesting its anti-platelet aggregation property. Further studies for the identification and characterization of the active principle from LaLE might lead to the discovery of new protease(s) of pharmacological significance.