High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) effects on antigenicity and structural properties of soybean β-conglycinin.

Abstract

In this study, the effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on antigenicity, free sulfhydryl group (SH) content, hydrophobicity (Ho), fluorescence intensity and circular dichroism data of soybean β-conglycinin was studied. The antigenicity of soybean β-conglycinin was decreased significantly at pressures 200-400MPa. The antigenicity inhibition rate of β-conglycinin declined from 92.72 to 55.15%, after being treated at 400MPa for 15min. Results indicated that free sulphydryl (SH) groups and surface Ho of β-conglycinin were significantly increased at pressures 200-400MPa and 5-15min, whereas these properties decreased at the treatments above 400MPa and 15min. The maximum fluorescence intensity was noticed at 400MPa and 15min. The circular dichroism data analysis revealed that the amount of β-turns and unordered structure significantly increased, while the content of α-helix1 and β-strand1 noticeably decreased. These results provide evidence that HHP-induced the structural modification of β-conglycinin and could alter the antigenicity of β-conglycinin.