Comparative Digestion and Acid Stability of Food Allergens and Non-allergenic Proteins

As more foods derived from genetically modified plants are entering the marketplace, the allergenicity of the introduced proteins needs to be assessed to ensure food safety. Digestion and acid stability has been proposed as one of the factors to be considered when assessing the potential allergenicity of transgenic proteins of non-food origin. Information on the comparative digestion and acid stability of food allergens and non-allergenic proteins is crucial for such an assessment. The stability of a group of storage proteins, plant lectins, contractile proteins, and enzymes was measured in a standard simulated gastric fluid (SGF), a standard simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) and an acidic salt solution (pH 1.2).
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The results showed that the stability of food allergens in SGF and SIF may be more,the same or less than that of non-allergenic proteins. There was no clear relationship between functionality of proteins and their SGF or SIF digestion stability. Therefore, it may not be possible to predict the digestion or acid stability of a certain protein based on its cellular function.This is the first study in the literature that compares the SGF,SIF and acid stability of food allergens and non-allergenic proteins in consistent and well-controlled conditions. The data collected in this study will not only help the safety assessment of transgenic proteins but will also be very useful to the food industry in general in understanding the physiochemical properties of food allergens. This one-year project resulted in three poster presentations at scientific meetings and one manuscript currently in preparation.