The fate of lectins contained in the seeds of
T. occidentalis,
C. papaya and
A. communis have been followed during the germinative process. Under the same culture conditions, the emergence of both the radicle and the plumule (the 3
rd and 5
th day; 18
th and 20
th and 12
th and the 15
th day respectively for T. occidentalis, C. papaya and A. communis) was preceded, 24 hours earlier, by the appearance of lectin in the developing tissues. The data suggest that the mitogenic lectins:
Telfairia occidentalis
Agglutinin (TOA) and Artocarpin accelerates the process of germination relative to that observed for seeds (
C. papaya) containing the non-mitogenic lectins, Caricin