Optimization of the proteolytic activity of selected lactic acid bacteria against wheat proteins and evaluation of the reduction of allergenicity using sera of allergic patients

• Grant number: 19/24643-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: February 17, 2020
• End date: February 16, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Science
• Principal Investigator: Bernadette Dora Gombossy de Melo Franco
• Grantee: Marcela Albuquerque Cavalcanti de Albuquerque
• Supervisor: Colette Larre
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Nantes (INRA), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 18/10540-6 - Determination of the proteolytic activity and functional potential of lactic acid bacteria to reduce the immunogenic activity of gluten in vitro, BP.PD

Abstract

The steady growth of the worldwide population rises several challenges for food security and vegetable proteins are gaining increased use for the design of new foods. Allergies are one of the most prevalent food-associated disorders in the Western world. Wheat proteins present many IgE binding allergens epitopes and their allergenicity can be reduced or eliminated by fermentation with proteolytic lactic acid bacteria. It is well known that these bacteria improve the fermentation of wheat products from a technological point of view, but their use to develop hypoallergenic fermented plant-based foods was not enough explored yet. Using selected lactic acid bacteria strains isolated in the first part of the postdoctoral project (project FAPESP 2018/10540-6), able to hydrolyze gluten, this BEPE project, to be carried out at INRA, Nantes, France, aims to optimize the proteolytic activity of these strains to wheat proteins and to investigate their effect in reducing the allergenicity of wheat proteins. The antigenic response of the hydrolysates obtained under optimized conditions to specific IgE will be assessed by competitive ELISA, using sera of patients allergic to wheat proteins belonging to the INRA sera collection supplied by hospitals around France in collaboration with INRA allergy team. (AU)