Structure and allergenicity assessments of bovine β-lactoglobulin treated by sonication-assisted irradiation

摘要

Bovine β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) is recognized as amajor allergen in milk. This study aimed to investigateultrasound-assisted irradiation for reducing the allergenicityof β-LG, since irradiation can reduce the allergenicityof cow milk proteins and ultrasound can improvethe quality of milk. The structural changes induced inhigh purity β-LG, treated by irradiation, with or withoutsonication, were characterized by native PAGE,circular dichroism spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy.The changes in allergenicity were measuredby IgE binding capacity to, and inflammatory mediatorsecretion by, human basophil KU812 cells. Surfacehydrophobicity was reduced and aggregation of β-LGincreased after treatment by irradiation, both withand without sonication. The IgE binding capacity andrelease of inflammatory mediators were reduced significantlyand the reduction induced by irradiation beforesonication was the greatest, suggesting that irradiationafter sonication can be a safe and effective method toreduce the allergenicity of β-LG in dairy processing.