Using proteomics platform to develop a potential immunoassay method of royal jelly freshness

Abstract

So far royal jelly (RJ) has been widely used as a kind of popular and traditional food for health promotion. However, the quality of RJ is vulnerable to improper storage conditions. In order to prohibit the low quality RJ products entering the market and consequently affect the health of humans, it is necessary to define the quality parameters and establish corresponding detection methods for the freshness of RJ. In this research, we applied two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight/time-of-flight mass spectrometry to research major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs) changes under different storage conditions after 6-month storage, looking for a stable and reliable protein marker which was also feasible to detect the freshness of RJ. Further research with the help of Western blotting analysis (WB) confirmed that, under room temperature, MRJP5 began to hydrolyze within 30 days and would completely degrade within 75 days, indicating that MRJP5 can be adapted as a freshness marker for RJ products. Moreover, the assessment results of the freshness of 12 commercial RJ products with WB showed that MRJP5 was present in twelve RJ samples at different abundance levels which further confirmed the detection of MRJP5 could be a feasible method to assess the quality and freshness of commercial RJ products.