207: The Impact of Pulsed Light Treatment on Allergenic Proteins in Shrimp Powder

Introduction

Shrimp allergy is a food safety issue that impacts human health, and reducing cross-contact in production lines is a key focus of this study. This research investigates the effects of pulsed light (PL) treatment on shrimp allergenic proteins and evaluates whether it can mitigate allergic reactions.

Methods

The shrimp species used in this study is Parapenaeopsis hardwickii, sourced locally from Keelung, which was processed into shrimp powder and subjected to PL treatment at different energy levels. In vitro experiments, including protein electrophoresis, Western blot analysis, and tropomyosin ELISA, were conducted to observe changes in allergenic proteins. In addition, in vivo experiments were performed to evaluate whether PL treatment could reduce the allergenicity of shrimp.

Results

The results showed that in vitro, increasing the duration of PL treatment led to a gradual decrease in allergenic protein intensity, with the best effects observed at 240 seconds of exposure. In vivo experiments demonstrated significant reductions (p < 0.05) in serum levels of IgE, IgG, IgG1, and IgG2a in food allergy model mice compared to the untreated group. Furthermore, the levels of Th2 cytokine IL-4 and pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α in splenocyte supernatants were reduced, while anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 and Th1 cytokine IFN-γ levels increased. Histological analysis of intestinal tissue revealed that PL-treated shrimp powder groups showed reduced intestinal tissue damage. These findings indicate that PL treatment can decrease allergic responses in BALB/c mice with food allergy models. Through both in vitro and in vivo experiments, this study confirms that PL treatment of shrimp powder can reduce indicators of allergic reactions.

Significance

PL treatment represents a promising non-thermal processing technology for modifying allergenic proteins. In the future, PL could be applied in shrimp powder production lines to reduce cross-contact of allergenic proteins, providing valuable insights for the shrimp processing industry.

Authors: Pei-Ting Chaung, Yi-Jung Tsai, Chung-Hsiung Huang, Bao-Hong Lee