2008 Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 171-179
Ovomucoid (OVM) is a dominant allergen in chicken egg white. It is difficult to lower the antigenicity and allergenicity of OVM because of its stability to heat and chemical treatments. The effects of combined high-pressure/enzymatic treatment on the proteolysis, antigenicity and allergenicity of OVM were investigated. OVM (1.4 mg/ml) was pressurized to 100-600 MPa at 37°C for 30 min prior to pepsin or chymotrypsin hydrolysis, which was also conducted under high pressures (100-600 MPa). The peptide profile was analyzed by tricine sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The residual antigenicity was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, using rabbit antisera against OVM and sera from egg-allergic patients. The residual allergenicity was measured on the basis of the histamine released from KU812F human pre-basophilic cells sensitized with sera from egg-allergic patients. Chymotryptic digestion carried out under high pressures enhanced the hydrolysis of OVM and reduced its antigenicity and allergenicity. The greatest reduction of antigenicity and allergenicity was obtained at a pressure of 400 MPa. Combined high-pressure/enzymatic treatment could be useful for reducing the antigenicity of food proteins.
