Recognition of cell-surface carbohydrates by lectins has wide implications in important
biological processes. The ability of plant lectins to detect subtle variations in carbohydrate
structures found on molecules, cells and organisms have made them a paradigm for protein-
carbohydrate recognition. Legume lectins, one of the most well studied family of plant
proteins, display a considerable repertoire of carbohydrate specificities owing perhaps to the
sequence hypervariability in the loops constituting their combining site. However, lack of a …

Lectins were studied from a wide selection of legumes including Phaseolus spp.,
soyabeans, groundnuts, Ulex spp., peas, Lens culinaris and Medicago spp.