Evaluating the Potential of Indirect Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay in the quality control of Allergens in Food

Abstract

Allergen is any food substance capable of causing allergic reaction due to recognition by immune system. The disorders associated with allergens are increasingly prevalent in the developed world and together include allergic rhinitis which is also known as hay fever, eczema, allergic asthma, atopic dermatitis, and food allergies with symptoms ranging from shortness of breath, sneezing, redness of eyes and running of nose. Also, others develop a potentially deathly systemic allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis, within seconds or minutes of exposure to allergens. Therefore, extremely small amount of allergen/antigen can be quantitatively measured using ELISA by taking the advantage of plastic surface ability to absorb low but detectable amount of protein. This is to ensure food safety. That is why it is important to monitor the quality of food prior to packaging and distribution. The protocols were that the unknown sample and standard solutions were added to the wells followed by washing, addition of enzyme linked with secondary antibody, washing, addition of substrate and reaction terminator using stop solution. The OD was then determined at 450 nm using microplate reader. The concentration of unknown antigen was determined to be 0.60ppm using a standard calibration curve. Therefore, ELISA has the potential of detecting small amount of protein in biological fluid within a short period of time with high sensitivity and selectivity. The sensitivity of ELISA in allergen detection has been supported by many studies without emphasizing on its implementation in food industry for quality control prior to distribution and packaging. Therefore, ELISA can be considered as the novel technology for quantification of extremely small amount of protein/allergen in an unknown sample. Keywords: Allergens; Pea nuts; Food Quality Control; ELISA