Isolation and identification of thymosin alpha 1 from calf spleen using high performance liquid chromatography.
Danho. W W; Gabriel. T F TF; Makofske. R C RC
Key Findings
- Thymosin‑alpha‑1 can be isolated from calf spleen
- The isolation uses defatting, pH‑adjusted extraction, heat denaturation, and multiple chromatography steps
- Yield from spleen is about 10‑20% of that from calf thymus
Practical Outcomes
- For DIY biohackers this study mainly shows that spleen is a possible source of thymosin‑alpha‑1, but it doesn’t provide dosing, safety, or performance data, so it has limited direct use in personal protocols.
Summary
Scientists figured out how to pull out the peptide thymosin‑alpha‑1 from calf spleen using a series of chemical steps and chromatography, confirming it’s the same peptide found in thymus tissue.
Abstract
A peptide isolated from calf spleen has been identified as thymosin alpha 1. The isolation involved defatting of the desiccated glands with acetone, extraction of the acetone power with pyridine acetate pH 5.5, heat denaturation, reverse phase chromatography on an RP-8 column, anion exchange chromatography on a Partisil SAX column and, finally, reverse phase purification on a microBondapak C18 column. The identification was based on: 1) amino acid analysis; 2) thermolysin digest; and 3) retention time in two different HPLC systems. The amount isolated from the spleen was 10-20% of that isolated from calf thymus glands.
Study Information
pubmed
1984
10.1111/j.1399-3011.1984.tb03135.x