Reduced allergenicities of irradiated egg white ovalbumin determined by skin prick test and ELISA inhibition test

Abstract

Background: Hen's egg is the most frequent cause of food hypersensitivity in infants and young children. The major egg white(EW) proteins are ovalbumin(OVA), ovomucoid(OM), ovotransferrine, and lysozyme. OVA and OM have been generally considered to be the most allergic EW proteins. Food irradiation has been permitted in the fields of agriculture and food handing. Currently, it was suggested that the binding ability of specific IgE to gamma-irradiated OVA was rapidly decreased depending upon the irradiation dose. Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the application of food irradiation technology as a method for reducing the allergenicities of EW proteins. Methods: A total of 10 egg-allergic patients less than 24 months of age were enrolled in this study. OVA was gamma-irradiated at 10 k㏉ in an aqueous stage(2.0 ㎎/㎖). Skin prick test and ELISA inhibition test were done to compare the IgE binding capacities before and after irradiation of OVA. Results: One hundred percent of patients showed positive skin reactions with EW and native-OVA. Negative skin reactions to irradiated-OVA were observed in 7 of 10 patients and remainder 3 showed reduced skin reactions(p=0.001). In IgE-ELISA inhibition test, the IgE-binding capacities of irradiated-OVA reduced 1/80 (50% inhibition concentration: native-OVA-0.1 ㎍/㎖, irradiated-OVA-8 ㎍/㎖), respectively. Conclusion: We suggested that the allergenicity of OVA can be reduced by the treatment with gamma irradiation.