BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVESDue to its beneficial health effects, use of buckwheat has shown a continuous increase, and concerns regarding the allergic property of buckwheat have also increased. This study was conducted for evaluation of the hydrolytic effects of seven commercial proteases on buckwheat allergens and its allergenicity.MATERIALS/METHODSExtracted buckwheat protein was hydrolyzed by seven proteolytic enzymes at individual optimum temperature and pH for four hours. Analysis was then performed using SDS-PAGE, immunoblotting, and competitive inhibition ELISA (ciELISA) with rabbit antiserum to buckwheat protein, and direct ELISA with pooled serum of 21 buckwheat-sensitive patients.RESULTSAlkaline protease, classified as serine peptidase, was most effective in reducing allergenicity of buckwheat protein. It caused decomposition of the whole buckwheat protein, as shown on SDS-PAGE, and results of immunoblotting showed that the rabbit antiserum to buckwheat protein no longer recognized it as an antigen. Allergenicity showed a decrease of more than 50% when pooled serum of patients was used in ELISA. Two proteolytic enzymes from Aspergillus sp. could not hydrolyze buckwheat allergens effectively, and the allergenicity even appeared to increase.CONCLUSIONSSerine-type peptidases appeared to show a relatively effective reduction of buckwheat allergenicity. However, the antigenicity measured using rabbit antiserum did not correspond to the allergenicity measured using sera from human patients. Production of less allergenic buckwheat protein may be possible using enzymatic hydrolysis.

Food allergy is a chronic disease that is increasing all over the world, and it can even lead to a loss of life. To prevent any incidents resulting from food allergies, most countries keep strengthening their food allergen labeling requirements domestically and internationally, with a constant monitoring system against undeclared allergens and recall of offending products. In order to avoid economic losses to industry and damages to international relations from undeclared allergens, it is necessary to confirm each country’s regulatory policy on food allergen labeling prior to exportation. Another required action is to try for a reduction of the cross-contamination risk of the allergens during manufacturing and storage, which should be verified by using an accurate and reliable analysis of food allergens. This paper is intended to provide an introduction to the regulation of food allergen labeling by country, allergen management methods to avoid cross-contamination, and allergen detection methods using ELISA, PCR, and LC/MS. Changes of allergenicity during thermal or nonthermal processing also will be investigated in our review. This review will be helpful for the food industry to better understand patients suffering from food allergies and to manage food allergens in food manufacturing.