title: Monoclonal antibodies to sweet taste proteins. I. Analysis of antigenic epitopes on thaumatin by competitive inhibition assays.
abstract: Using a competitive inhibition binding immunoassay, we have examined some of the antigenic epitopes present on thaumatin, an intense sweet tasting protein from the African fruit katemfe. We have developed a library of monoclonal antibodies which react with different surface antigenic epitopes on thaumatin. Some of these monoclonal antibodies also cross-react with monellin, another unrelated sweet tasting protein. The competitive binding immunoassay examines the immunoreactivity of both solid-phase and liquid-phase monoclonal antibodies. At least six major antigenic epitopes on thaumatin were identified by our library of monoclonal antibodies. This type of competitive binding analysis may prove useful in the discovery of "sweet taste determinants" on plant proteins and in the development of tandem immunoassays for quantitation of sweet tasting proteins in plant extracts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A & M University, College Station 77843-4467.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mandal
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shirley
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Anchin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mandal
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Linthicum
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology*; D001666:Binding Sites, Antibody; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D000939:Epitopes / Q000032:analysis*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D013649:Taste
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000939:Epitopes; D010940:Plant Proteins; D013549:Sweetening Agents; C002541:monellin protein, Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii; C003427:thaumatin protein, plant