AN ANTIVIRAL SUBSTANCE FROM PENICILLIUM CYANEO-FULVUM BIOURGE: III. STUDIES ON THE NATURE OF THE ANTIVIRAL SUBSTANCE

Abstract

An attempt has been made to determine the nature of an antiviral substance derived from Penicillium cyaneo-fulvum. Although the material was available only in semipurified state, horizontal electrophoresis showed just two components present, one with a positive charge and the other with a negative one. Both stained with mucicarmine and Amido black. After hydrolysis of the preparation, 13 amino acids were identified by two-dimensional chromatography. Preliminary studies indicate that the semipurified material contains 21–25% reducing sugar. The effect of a variety of enzymes on the activity of the preparation has been studied. The results indicate that the antiviral substance may be an amino acid – carbohydrate complex.