β-Trichosanthin: a new abortifacient protein from the Chinese drug,Wangua, Trichosanthes cucumeroides

β-Trichosanthin was a new abortifacient protein purified from the Chinese drug, Wangua, root tubers of Trichosanthes cucumeroides (Cucurbitaceae). The purification procedure involved acetone fractionation, ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography on CM-Sepharose and preparative agarose electrophoresis. Homogeneity of β-trichosanthin was demonstrated in immunoelectrophoresis, agarose electrophoresis and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It had a molecular weight of 28 000 and no cysteine in its molecule. It differed from trichosanthin, a known abortifacient protein isolated from a related Chinese drug, Tianhuafen, root tubers of Trichosanthes kirilowii (Cucurbitaceae), in molecular weight, carbohydrate content, charge and amino acid composition. β-Trichosanthin was, however, immunochemically identical to trichosanthin and was about twice as potent as trichosanthin in inducing mid-term abortion in mice.