Glycosaminoglycans from Ateroid and bovine duodenal mucosa and pancreas.

Glycosaminoglycans (GG) were isolated from commercial Ateroid and compared with those from bovine duodenal mucosa and pancreas. The major GG in Ateroid is heparin. Heparan sulfate (HS) and dermatan sulfate were also found. HS, chondroitin sulfates, and heparin were isolated from duodenal mucosa after papain digestion, but a residue, non-digestible, was mostly heparin. Pancreas contains very little GG, and the GG composition is similar to that of mucosa. The heparin isolated from Ateroid and mucosa have similar lipoprotein lipase-releasing activity, but the former has considerably less anticoagulant activity. Interestingly, papain digestion of mucosa and pancreas did not release all heparin from the tissue, suggesting that the protein to which heparin is linked is not readily accessible to the enzyme.