Synthesis and biological activity of ovine beta-lipotropin-(41--91)-henkaipentekontapeptide.

The 51-residue peptide ovine beta-lipotropin-(41--91) has been synthesized by the solid-phase method in about 5% overall yield. The synthetic product was characterized by partition chromatography on agarose gel, thin-layer chromatography in two solvent systems, paper electrophoresis at two pH values, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, amino acid analyses of acid and enzymic hydrolysates, and bioassay for lipolytic and melanotropic activities. The synthetic peptide is about 5.4 times as active on a weight basis as ovine beta-lipotropin in the lipolytic assay. In the melanotropic assay, it was about 2.4 times more active than the beta-lipotropin but only 5% as active as bovine beta-melanotropin. It had negligible opiate activity in the guinea pig ileum assay.