凝集素特异性识别和结合碳水化合物的特性使其成为生物医学研究的优秀候选者。其中，岩藻糖结合凝集素具有结合岩藻糖的能力，是在分类学、进化和生态学上具有重要意义的一类凝集素，在广泛的分类群中得到鉴定。岩藻糖结合凝集素的纯化可以追溯到 1967 年，当时使用含有三个 α-L-吡喃岩藻糖基残基的染料从 Lotus tetragonolobus 中分离出 L-岩藻糖结合蛋白。首先，从各种动物和植物来源中纯化了几种 FBL，并对其结构和功能进行了表征。本综述重点关注岩藻糖结合凝集素、它们的出现和纯化，特别强调纯化它们所采用的各种策略，然后进行分子和功能表征。识别和结合含岩藻糖聚糖的独特能力赋予这些凝集素作为免疫细胞的抗癌剂、诊断标记物和有丝分裂原的潜力。尽管半个多世纪以来它们一直是研究焦点，并在各种分类单元中都有报道，但仍需要探索它们的预期功能，以将它们开发为生物医学研究中的生物工具。© 2023。作者，获得 Springer Nature B.V. 的独家许可。

The property of lectins to specifically recognize and bind carbohydrates makes them an excellent candidate in biomedical research. Among them are fucose-binding lectins possessing the capacity to bind fucose are taxonomically, evolutionarily and ecologically significant class of lectins that are identified in a wide range of taxa. Purification of fucose-binding lectins dates back to 1967 when L-fucose binding protein from Lotus tetragonolobus was isolated using a dye that contained three α-L-fucopyranosyl residues. Beginning with that, several FBLs were purified from various animals as well as plant sources that were structurally and functionally characterised. This review focuses on fucose-binding lectins, their occurrence and purification with special emphasis on various strategies adopted to purify them followed by molecular and functional characterization. The exclusive ability to recognize and bind to fucose-containing glycans endows these lectins with the potential to act as anti-cancer agents, diagnostic markers and mitogens for immune cells. Though they have been in research focus for more than half a century with their occurrence reported in various taxa, they still need to be explored for their prospective functions to develop them as a biological tool in biomedical research.© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.