Hemagglutinating Potential of Hyacinth (Lablab purpureus) Bean Extract

Abstract

Among the many blood group systems, the most medically relevant when it comes to carrying out blood transfusions and organ transplantations is the ABO blood group system. Blood typing, in general, plays a very important role in clinical diagnosis, transfusion medicine, and immunohematology. These experiments were centralized on the hemagglutinating prospects of the said Hyacinth Bean (Lablab purpureus) extract. Seeds had been obtained in Barangay Dasay, Miraan, locos Sur, and were authenticated at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University. The phytochemicals assay was conducted to ascertain the presence of biologically active compounds, more specifically lectins with a carbohydrate-binding affinity and an agglutination-inducing properties. The beans were subjected to standard extraction, precipitation, and buffer preparation protocols to obtain crude extract from which the crude lectin-containing extract was derived. Different treatment concentrations of the extract were prepared for testing hemagglutination. Macroscopic grading of agglutination reactions was employed to compare against commercial antisera (positive control). Subsequently, the experiment yielded proof of hemagglutinating activity found in the extract across ABO group with some concentration demonstrating the agglutinating power equivalent to commercial antisera particularly those of types A and B. This study reinforces the paradigm concerning the use of sustainable plant-based diagnostic resources, and furthermore encourages investigations that will optimize extraction methods of the active lectin components, as well as standardization of the treatment protocols for consistent and accurate diagnostic use.