A new strategy for mitigation of the allergenic activity of ovomucoid in hen eggs and beta-lactoglobulin in cow milk

Abstract

Recently, public interest in food allergies has been increasing because of increasing prevalence of these allergies among children. In Japan, hen egg and cow milk allergies account for nearly 50% of all cases of childhood food allergies. Patients with hen egg and cow milk allergies should avoid these foods and products that contain them until they have outgrown their allergies. However, regarding nutrition, quality of diet, and hyposensitization, it is significantly important for these patients to ingest hypoallergenic hen eggs, cow milk, and products that contain them. We previously demonstrated the mitigation of the allergenic activity of beta-lactoglobulin in cow milk and ovomucoid in hen egg by electrolysis. In this review, we discuss this new strategy for producing hypoallergenic hen eggs and cow milk.