Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Food Processing and Sensory Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #209707
Title: Effect of Non-Thermal Processing on Peanut Allergens.

Author
item Chung, Si Yin
item YANG, W. - A&M UNIVERSITY
item SINGH, A. - A&M UNIVERSITY
item KRISHNA, K. - A&M UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: American Peanut Research and Education Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/2/2007
Publication Date: 7/10/2007
Citation: Chung, S., Yang, W., Singh, A., Krishna, K. 2007. Effect of non-thermal processing on peanut allergens. American Peanut Research and Education Society Abstracts.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Peanut allergy is on the rise, and the reason is still unclear. Previously, roasting by thermal method has been shown to increase the allergenic potency of peanuts. In this study, we determined if non-thermal methods, such as, pulsed electric fields (PEF) and pulsed UV lights (PUV) affect peanut allergens in a way different from the roasting method. Peanut extracts were prepared from defatted raw peanut meals and treated with the following methods (M): (1) PEF, using an OSU-4J PEF processor at 43.2 KV/cm field strength for 47 µs; (2) PUV1, using a Xenon RS-3000C for 4 min; (3) PUV2, using the same Xenon for 2 min; and (4) PEF+PUV2. The treated extracts were then analyzed for changes in levels of peanut allergens and immunoglobulin E (IgE) binding, using SDS-PAGE, Western blot, and an inhibition ELISA. Results showed that while the major peanut allergen Ara h 2 was unaffected by PEF or PUV, levels of two other major allergens, Ara h 1 and Ara h 3 in the extracts, were reduced by the methods, except for M1. Studies of IgE binding revealed a 7-fold decrease in the allergenic potency of extracts by M2 and M4, compared to the roasting method. The allergenic potency for each method was decreased in the following order: [roasting] > [raw or M1] > [M3] > [M2 and M4]. It was concluded that unlike the roasting method, non-thermal methods, such as, PUV alone or PEF combined with PUV were able to reduce the allergenic potency of peanut extracts.