Allergenic Proteins in Soybean: Processing and Reduction of P34 Allergenicity

Abstract

Soybean ranks among the "big 8" of the most allergenic foods, and with increasing consumption of soybean products, the incidence of soy-caused allergies is expected to escalate. Soybean and its derivatives have become ubiquitous in vegetarian and many meat-based food products, and as a result, dietary avoidance has become difficult. However, soybeans can be manipulated in a variety of ways to alter their allergenicity. Several studies have focused on reducing the allergenicity of soybeans by changing the structure of the immunodominant allergen P34 using food processing, agronomic, or genetic manipulation techniques. A review of the literature pertaining to these studies is presented here.

Soybean Allergens: Presence, Detection and Methods for Mitigation

“…Protein hydrolysis and fermentation also show effectiveness on reducing soy allergenicity (Wilson et al, 2005;Penas et al, 2006;Frias et al, 2008). Although the allergen reactivity was reduced substantially, functional properties of resulting soy proteins were also significantly altered.…”

“…This is because food allergens are complex mixtures of potentially immunoreactive proteins. According to Wilson et al (2005), soybean allergens comprise proteins with molecular masses from 7 to 71 kDa.…”

Quantitative Analysis of AntiHevea brasiliensis Antibody Cross-Reactivity against Taraxacum kok-saghyz Latex Proteins Demonstrates Significantly Reduced Antibody Recognition

“…Soybean is ranked as one of the top 8 allergenic foods, especially among infants and children and at least 21 allergenic soybean proteins have been identified [36]. Approximately 0.4% of children are allergic to soy and among them the majority will outgrow the soy allergy by ages 3 to 10 [37].…”

Hydrolysis of Soybean 7S and 11S Globulins Using Bacillus subtilis

“…1c) showed some bands with molecular weights larger than the acidic polypeptides (approximately 37 to 43 kDa), the main bands of 28 to 30 kDa were present in four figures. Wilson et al (2005) listed a series of soybean protein fractions of different molecular weighs with IgE-binding activity, such as the 7S globulin (including M.W. 33 ~ 35, 35 ~ 38, 40 ~ 41, 47 ~ 50, 52 ~ 55, etc.…”