Relationships of Digestibility and Absorption with the Allergenicity of Insolubilized Ovomucoid

Abstract

Although baked eggs are low allergenicity due to the insolubilization of ovomucoid (OM), the underlying mechanism of allergenicity reduction remains unclear. We analyzed the digestibility and absorptivity of baked OM and examined its relevance to induction of allergic symptoms. In vitro immunoblotting revealed that, despite similar protein concentrations, protein bands in the supernatant of baked OM were weaker and had diminished antibody binding capacity than those of purified OM, heated OM, and non-baked OM. In mouse experiments, ingestion of baked OM suppressed allergic symptoms; OM was detected in the blood of mice that ingested baked OM, and the baked OM group had the lowest levels. However, OM was not detected in the intestinal contents or feces of these mice at 120 min. Thus, it is possible that baked OM is absorbed as small peptides that bind less to immunoglobulin (Ig) E and are thereby less allergenic.