Effects of enzymatic hydrolysis on lentil allergenicity

Why it matters

According to the researchers, legumes are among the most common allergenic foods causing allergic reactions in children in the Mediterranean area. Lentil consumption is increasing, mainly in developing countries as a vehicle for mineral biofortification. A number of previous research studies have evaluated the effects of enzymatic hydrolysis on the allergenicity and digestibility of food proteins. Enzymatic protein hydrolysates constitute an alternative to intact proteins in the development of special formulations designed to provide nutritional support to specific population groups with different needs, such as infants, elderly and food-allergic patients. The authors investigated the effect of sequential action of Alcalase and Flavourzyme in lentil allergenicity using sera from patients with well-documented lentil allergy. The researchers also considered the potential utility of these lentil protein hydrolysates as hypoallergenic ingredients in food formulae.

Reference

The article appears in the September 2010 issue of the Molecular Nutrition & Food Research journal (volume 54, issue 9, pages 1266-1272). Authors: Beatriz Cabanillas, Mercedes M. Pedrosa, Julia Rodríguez, Ángela González, Mercedes Muzquiz, Carmen Cuadrado, Jesús F. Crespo, and Carmen Burbano.

Abstract

Enzymatic hydrolysis and further processing are commonly used to produce hypoallergenic dietary products derived from different protein sources, such as cow's milk. Lentils and chickpeas seem to be an important cause of IgE-mediated hypersensitivity in the Mediterranean area and India. Some studies have investigated the effects of enzymatic treatments on the in vitro immunological reactivity of members of the Leguminosae family, such as soybean, chickpea, lentil, and lupine. Nevertheless, there are only a few studies carried out to evaluate the effect on IgE reactivity of these food-hydrolysis products with sera from patients with well-documented allergy to these foods. In this study, lentil protein extract was hydrolyzed by sequential action of an endoprotease (Alcalase) and an exoprotease (Flavourzyme). Immunoreactivity to raw and hydrolyzed lentil extract was evaluated by means of IgE immunoblotting and ELISA using sera from five patients with clinical allergy to lentil. The results indicated that sequential hydrolysis of lentil results in an important proteolytic destruction of IgE-binding epitopes shown by in vitro experiments. However, some allergenic proteins were still detected by sera from four out of five patients in the last step of sequential hydrolyzation.