Almond allergen stability

Monday, 27 April 2009 20:45

The secondary structure of the main allergen in almond, amandin, has been studied in a collaboration between researchers in Spain and the US to determine whether thermal and chemical treatments affects almond allergenicity. Their objective was to identify whether almond allergenicity could be reduced through standard food-processing means.

In reporting their results, the researchers  compared amandin with other plant allergens which are members of  the cupin “superfamily”  which includes peanut, soybean and other tree nuts. Like other members of the family, amandin was found to have a high degree of thermostability, and did not undergo remarkable changes at temperatures of 90°C forming aggregates on heating, rather than protein unfolding. This is not unlike the behaviour of peanut protein on heating. The isolated acidic and the basic polypeptides of amandin were found to have reduced thermal stability, with lower denaturation temperatures than amandin as a whole.

Reference: Albillos et al. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.  Publication Date (Web): April 17 2009.