The Effects of Enzymes on Ragweed-Pollen and Studies on the Iso-Electric Point of Low-Ragweed Antigen

[摘要] 1. 1. The acid-pepsin digestion of pollen-antigen does result in a definite loss in its activity.2. 2. This loss is not due to digestion of the protein but to a decrease in the solubility of the pollen-antigen in the hydrochloric acid and to its oxidation. Such oxidation can be prevented by excluding oxygen during the process of digestion, or by the addition of dextrose.3. 3. The iso-electric point of low-ragweed pollen-antigen, or of the protein which has absorbed large quantities of the active pollen-antigen, is pH 3.5.4. 4. The preponderance of evidence as shown by this work and by the work of others indicates definitely that the enzymes of the gastro-intestinal tract destroy little, if any, of the pollenantigen. One can therefore reasonably conclude that, as far as its resistance to digestion is concerned, pollen-antigen is well adapted for oral therapy. This is particularly true if dextrose is given with the pollen.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）