Development of a Real-Time PCR for the Detection of Lupine DNA (Lupinus Species) in Foods

Abstract

Lupine flour, protein, and fiber have become common ingredients in food products. The association of lupine-related allergic incidents with peanut allergy is a cause for concern as the latter may bring about severe reactions. In this study, a hybridization probe-based real-time PCR assay for the detection of lupine DNA in foods was developed. Particular attention was paid to the specificity of the method, which was verified by analysis of DNA extracts from more than 50 potential food ingredients such as legumes, cereals, seeds, nuts, spices, fruits, and meat. The limit of detection of the method was determined as 0.1 mg/kg. The successful detection of the presence/absence of lupine DNA in 20 samples proved the suitability of the assay for the analysis of frequently encountered food matrices.

Scientific Opinion on the evaluation of allergenic foods and food ingredients for labelling purposes

“…DNA methods for allergen detection can be considered complementary to the methods for analysing proteins, in particular ELISA. Their applicability to several allergenic foods has been extensively reviewed Demmel et al, 2008;Scaravelli et al, 2008;Monaci and Visconti, 2010).…”

Antibody‐Based Detection Methods: From Theory to Practice

“…In many cases, low sensitivity is not always required, and both immunoassays and DNA tests are easily able to detect approximate concentrations of target in total food. For example, many studies comparing ELISA assays and PCR-based methods for the detection of food allergens have shown a high degree of agreement (Meyer et al, 1996;Holzhauser et al, 2000Holzhauser et al, , 2002Dahinden et al, 2001;Stephan and Vieths, 2004;Hirao et al, 2006;Yamakawa et al, 2007;Bettazzi et al, 2008;Demmel et al, 2008;Piknova et al, 2008). However, PCR can also be more sensitive than its ELISA counterpart.…”

Detection of Food Allergens

“…There are a few studies comparing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of the same allergen, showing a generally good correlation for different food matrices (Meyer et al, 1996;Holzhauser et al, 2000Holzhauser et al, , 2002Dahinden et al, 2001;Hirao et al, 2006;Yamakawa et al, 2007;Bettazzi et al, 2008;Demmel et al, 2008;Piknova et al, 2008). Some PCR assays have been reported to be more sensitive than ELISA (Koppel et al, 1998).…”