Chinese researchers have taken a step towards removing a protein
from prawns that cause an allergic response, without resorting to
genetic manipulation.
Li Zhenxing led the research at the Ocean University of China.
The team revealed that treating prawns with a combination of heat
and irradiation significantly reduced the level of reactive
proteins called allergens.
They took blood from patients with shrimp allergies, added
samples of treated and untreated prawn, and measured how antibodies
in the blood reacted.
They found that levels of 'Pen a 1', one of the major allergens,
decreased 20-fold after treatment.
Zhenxing's team suggests that irradiation damages the proteins,
revealing hidden reactive amino acid residues. Subsequent heating
then destroys the exposed residues.
"Radiation and heat seems to be a promising method for reducing
the immunoreactivity" said the researchers.
Samuel Lehrer of Tulane University in New Orleans, USA, is
already working on removing allergens from prawns using genetic
techniques. But Zhenxing's method could be preferable for people
wary of eating genetically modified foods.
(CRI February 27, 2007)