Soybean agglutinin

[1] SBAs have a molecular weight of 120 kDa and an isoelectric point near pH 6.0[2] SBA preferentially binds to oligosaccharide structures with terminal α-helix or β-sheet linked N-acetylgalactosamine, and to a lesser extent, galactose residues.

[3] SBA binds to intestinal epithelial cells, causing inflammation and intestinal permeability, and is a major factor in acute inflammation from raw soybean meal fed to animals however the same study concludes "The data indicate that soybean lectin is able to induce a local inflammatory reaction but has an anti-inflammatory effect when present in circulating blood".

Consumption of soybean agglutinin resulted in a depletion of lipid and an overgrowth of small intestine and pancreas in rats.

Meanwhile, poor growth of spleen and kidneys and pancreatic hypertrophy was observed in the soybean agglutinin-fed rats.

Cells fractionated by SBA do not produce graft vs host disease and can be used in bone marrow transplantation across histocompatibility barriers.