Antigenicity of the enzyme hydrolyzed casein from cow milk

The residual antigenicity of hydrolyzed proteins was estimated by indirect competitive ELISA,which indirectly reflected the reduction in sensitization of casein proteins. Commercial casein was hydrolyzed with 7 common proteases in their optimal condition,and the effect of enzymatic hydrolysis on the antigenicity was investigated. Furthermore,the trend of the antigenicity of casein hydrolysates along with the molecular weight change was discussed,as well as the antigenicity of extensive hydrolysis casein and partial hydrolysis casein. Results showed that different proteases had different effects on casein protein allergens and enzyme specificity determined the residual antigenicity of the casein proteins. Neutrase was observed to be the most effective protease. The inhibition rate of its hydrolysate against anti-casein was 20. 91%. In addition,the residual antigenicity is proportional to the molecular weight of the hydrolysates. The inhibition rate against anti-casein was only 6. 61% when the molecular weight of hydrolyzed casein was below 3000 Dalton. Owing to the different degree of hydrolysis and molecular weight distribution,extensive and partial hydrolysis casein had different antigen inhibition.