Changes in Allergenicity of Porcine Serum Albumin by Gamma Irradiation

Pork is an excellent source of essential nutrients such as protein. However, pork can trigger hypersensitivity and serum albumin of pork is known as major allergen. In this study, to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation on the allergenicity of porcine serum albumin (PSA), PSA solution was irradiated at 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, and 20 kGy. The changes in the ability of PSA to bind IgG and patient`s serum caused by gamma irradiation were observed by ci-ELISA and immunoblotting. SDS-PAGE was used for measuring the conformational change of gamma-irradiated PSA. The ability of 3-kGy-irradiated PSA to bind p-IgG and patient`s serum was decreased to 30% and 15%, respectively. The binding ability showed no significant differences among all irradiated samples. SDS-PAGE showed that the irradiated PSA bands were degraded and aggregated. Immunoblotting of irradiated PSA revealed that IgG and patient`s serum were rarely recognized at 3 kGy. Therefore, gamma irradiation could be applied to less-allergenic pork products.