Isolation and characterization of serum albumin from Camelus dromedarius

Serum albumin constitutes 35–50 mg/ml of plasma proteins and performs various physiological activities including the regulation of osmotic pressure on blood, maintaining buffering of the blood pH, carrying different fatty acids and other small molecules, such as bilirubin, hormones, drugs and metal ions, as well as participating in immunological responses. Serum albumin is an extensively used protein in biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries. The camel (Camelus dromedarius) is well tailored to successfully survive in extremely hot and dry climates. Plasma osmolality in the camel increases during water-deprived conditions. In such circumstances serum albumin is crucial in the regulation of blood pressure. The study of biochemical, biophysical and immunological aspects of camel serum albumin (CSA) are likely to provide molecular insights into camel physiology and may render it an alternative to human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) in all cases. However, these proteins are currently not available or cannot be utilized due to a variety of considerations. In this study, 12 mg of highly pure CSA was obtained from 1 ml plasma. Coomassie Brilliant Blue staining of SDS-PAGE yielded one band and RP-HPLC results revealed a single sharp peak, indicating homogenous preparation of the CSA. The charge/mass ratio and surface hydrophobicity of the CSA was similar to that of BSA. Mass spectrometry analysis of the purified protein confirmed the identity of CSA.