Development of new hypoallergenic technology for processed wheat products using unutilized resources

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K19713
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 59:Sports sciences, physical education, health sciences, and related fields
• Research Institution: Shimane University
• Principal Investigator: Tsurunaga Yoko 島根大学, 学術研究院人間科学系, 教授 (60517051)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 森田 栄伸 島根大学, 学術研究院医学・看護学系, 教授 (90182237)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-07-09 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 食物アレルギー / 小麦依存性運動誘発アナフィラキシー / 低アレルゲン化 / 小麦加工品 / パン / クッキー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The causative agent of wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (WDEIA) is the gluten fraction (ω5-gliadin).　 On the other hand, soluble tannins, which are universally present in plants, have the property of strongly binding to proteins and inhibiting their three-dimensional structure and polymerization. In this study, we investigated a method of denaturing allergenic proteins using tannins. Cookies and breads were made by replacing a part of wheat with tannins such as chestnut inner shell and young persimmon fruit, and their hypoallergenicity was evaluated by two types of ELISA and Western blotting analysis. The results showed that the addition of tannin material reduced allergens in cookies and breads, and the effect was more pronounced the greater the amount of tannin material substituted.

Free Research Field

食品加工、機能性

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

小麦は学童期以降の食物アレルギーにおいて頻度の高い原因食品の一つで、多くが重篤なWDEIAとなる。小麦アレルギー患者は小麦摂取制限や食後の運動制限を強いられることになり、QOLが著しく低下する。これまで、小麦の低アレルゲン化については、タンパク質分解酵素や加熱処理の利用によるエピトープ（アレルゲンの性質を示す部分で、抗体が特異的に結合する抗原のアミノ酸配列）の分解、育種によるアレルゲン欠乏系統の育成等が試みられてきた。本研究では、小麦加工品の製造途中にタンニン素材を添加する手法を試みて、その可能性を見出すことができた。課題も見つかったため、今後はそれらの課題を解決できる研究を行う予定である。