Since the discovery of haemagglutinating activity in marine algal extracts in 1966, several
algal haemagglutinins (lectins) have been detected, isolated and characterized. However,
information is slowly emerging, concerning biochemical characteristics of lectins from
Antarctic marine algae. Lectins are proteins or glycoproteins which bind, reversibly, to
carbohydrates. Eighteen species of Antarctic marine algae have been tested for the
presence of haemagglutinins against a several types of erythrocytes (rabbit, chicken, goat …