Researchers have used a technique called “reverse pressure sterilization” to reduce the crustacean’s ability to cause an allergic reaction.
- After eating raw and roasted shrimp, the allergic mice showed increased levels of histamine and damage to the spleen and lungs.
- Rodents that consumed roasted shellfish and then exposed to high pressure and steam had less severe reactions and less organ damage.
- Cooking only causes the allergenic proteins to change shape, whereas reverse pressure sterilization caused them to clump together and prevented the antibodies from binding.
Are you allergic to shrimp? There may be a way to enjoy this seafood without your immune system overreacting to this allergen. Recently, scientists at the Polytechnic University of Dalian (China) identified a method, called “reverse pressure sterilization”, which would make it possible to produce less allergenic shrimp. To reach this discovery, they carried out a study, the results of which were published in the journal Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Create less allergenic shrimp by exposing them to high pressure and steam
“Previous research on other seafood, such as oysters, has suggested that allergenicity may increase after roasting, i.e. cooking, while others show it decreases,” said the Chinese researchers in a statement. So, they wanted to understand exactly how shrimp allergens change post-procedure and see if they could create a more hypoallergenic product.
As part of their work, the team separated samples of Penaeus vannamei shrimp into three groups. One group was raw and the second was roasted. The third group was roasted and then treated with reverse pressure sterilization, in which the shellfish were exposed to high pressure and steam. Then all the prawns were mashed and each was fed to mice with seafood allergies.
Reverse pressure sterilization prevents antibodies from clinging and severe allergic reaction
“Roasting induced structure unfolding, which may reduce allergenicity, but exposed more linear epitopes, causing mice to exhibit anaphylaxis similar to mice fed non-shrimp shrimp. processed”, can we read in the results. Clearly, raw and roasted shrimp caused similar reactions, including increased levels of histamine and damage to the spleen and lungs, suggesting that cooking alone does not alter the properties of the substance much.
In contrast, shrimp roasted and then exposed to high pressure and steam significantly reduced specific antibodies. Thus, mice that consumed these crustaceans had less severe reactions and less organ damage.
When the allergenic proteins in the shrimp samples were examined more closely, the authors found that cooking caused these proteins to change shape, but antibodies could still bind. However, reverse pressure sterilization caused the proteins to clump together, obscuring the binding areas. This prevented the antibodies from latching on and thus prevented a severe allergic reaction.
