Pressured heating and enzymatic digestion effects on lupine allergenicity

Lupine is being increasingly used in human food, as an ingredient and additive, due to its high content of protein, fat and insoluble fiber in addition to its techno-functional properties and beneficial effects on human health. Lupine is included in the list of allergenic foods in EU and Australia due to its rising prevalence in the last decades. This work is focused on investigating the effect of heating, with and without pressure, combined with enzymatic hydrolysis on the allergenic capacity of lupine analyzed by in vitro (Western blot) and in vivo (skin prick) tests. The present findings demonstrated that pressured heating (autoclave and Controlled Instantaneous Depressurization (DIC)) followed by enzymatic digestion with protease E5 drastically reduce the allergenic capacity of lupine. The DIC treatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis resulted the optimal combination to diminish the allergenic reactivity of lupine although validation with larger sera population is advisable.