Digestibility of food allergens and nonallergenic proteins in simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid-a comparative study.
Information on the comparative digestibility of food allergens and nonallergenic proteins is crucial when stability to digestion is to be used as a criterion to assess the allergenic potential of novel proteins. In this work, we compared the digestive stability of a number of food allergens and proteins of unproven allergenicity and examined whether allergens possess a higher stability than nonallergenic proteins of similar cellular functions, and whether there is a correlation between protein digestibility and allergenicity. The stability of groups of storage proteins, plant lectins, contractile proteins, and enzymes, both allergens and proteins with unproven allergenicity, in a standard simulated gastric fluid and a standard simulated intestinal fluid was measured. Food allergens were not necessarily more resistant to digestion than nonallergenic proteins. There was not a clear relationship between digestibility measured in vitro and protein allergenicity.
Fu
Tong-Jen
TJ
U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Illinois Institute of Technology, National Center for Food Safety and Technology, Summit-Argo, Illinois 60501, USA.
Abbott
Upasana R
UR
Hatzos
Catherine
C
D000485:Allergens / Q000378:metabolism*; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000378:metabolism*; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004063:Digestion; D004355:Drug Stability; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D007782:Lactoglobulins / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000378:metabolism; D010206:Papain / Q000378:metabolism; D010434:Pepsin A / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D037121:Plant Lectins / Q000378:metabolism
D000485:Allergens; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D007782:Lactoglobulins; D037121:Plant Lectins; D010047:Ovalbumin; D010206:Papain; D010434:Pepsin A