Effect of cold plasma treatment on the antigenicity of peanut allergen Ara h 1

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of cold atmospheric plasma on the antigenicity of protein Ara h 1. Dry, defatted peanut flour (DPF), whole peanut (WP) were subjected to cold atmospheric plasma at voltage of 80 kV for different treatment durations (0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min). The allergen samples were analyzed using SDS-PAGE, immunoblot and competitive ELISA. Furthermore, the secondary structure was examined using circular dichroism. SDS-PAGE results revealed no change in the protein intensity bands corresponding to Ara h 1 for both DPF and WP. Competitive ELISA of samples showed a reduction in antigenicity up to 43% for DPF and 9.3% for WP. Circular dichroism studies revealed modifications in secondary structure induced by plasma reactive species. Industrial relevance Cold plasma has emerged as a novel processing technique. This study provides evidence for reduction of antigenicity of Ara h1 in peanuts using cold plasma. This study also demonstrated the plasma-induced changes in protein structure at high treatment duration. The work described in this research is relevant to the processing of cereal grains and legumes wherein allergenicity is a major concern. This results provide the basis for possible industrial implementation.