Tandem mass spectrometry to quantitate soy

The concentration of allergenic proteins in soy has been investigated using tandem mass spectrometry by a research team in the USA. Their investigation is said to be the first quantitative assessment of all major soybean allergens. A copy of the manuscript describing the work is currently available for free download.

Soy allergies are known to be a response to at least one of thirty-seven proteins found in soy. The natural variation of expression of these proteins in different soy varieties has not previously been determined due to method limitations. Recent advances in mass spectrometry have offered new means for determining relative and absolute protein levels in a complex biological matrix such as soy.

The current study undertook quantitative proteomic analysis of allergens in twenty commercial soy varieties. Although the absolute quantities of the allergens examined spanned over a 10-fold range, the actual level of expression of the allergens did not vary greatly amongst the soy varieties. The authors believe this suggests there is variation in levels of the individual allergenic proteins.

This proteomic analysis of twenty soy varieties showed that mass spectrometry can effectively profile the natural variation of several allergens, and may one day be used to obtain accurate information about levels of allergenic proteins for soy-product labels.

Reference: Houston et al. 2010 Journal of Proteome Research. DOI: 10.1021/pr100913w

Downloads: Journal of Proteome Research 2010 – Houston et al [PDF 741 KB]