Simultaneous and rapid determination of the anticarcinogenic proteins Bowman-Birk inhibitor and lectin in soybean crops by perfusion RP-HPLC

There are numerous studies demonstrating a direct association between the ingestion of soybean and low cancer incidence. This fact has been related to the presence of Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI) and lectin in soybean. The simultaneous and fast determination of BBI and lectin in soybean is proposed, for the first time, in this work. Two different strategies were designed for the extraction of BBI and lectin: extraction of soybean proteins using a Tris–HCl buffer followed by isolation of BBI and lectin by the isoelectric precipitation of other soybean proteins (method I) or by the direct extraction of BBI and lectin using an acetate buffer (method II). The effect of the previous soybean defating on the extraction of BBI and lectin was also studied. Moreover, the possibility of using a high-intensity focalized ultrasonic probe for accelerating the extraction was explored and an optimization of the extraction time and ultrasound amplitude was performed. The extracts obtained were analysed by RP-HPLC–ESI-MS for the correct identification of BBI and lectin in soybean. Moreover, a fast chromatographic methodology using a perfusion column and UV detection was optimized for the rapid determination of BBI and lectin in soybean. After evaluating its analytical characteristics (linearity, precision, and recovery), the method was applied to the quantitation of BBI and lectin in different soybean varieties.