Effet des procédés thermiques sur l’allergénicité des aliments

Abstract

Food allergy is an immunological hypersensitivity triggered by specific proteins called allergens. It is clinically distinguished from intolerances and pseudo-allergies by the proven involvement of the immune system. Milk, egg, and peanut constitute the main protein sources incriminated. The objective of this work is to theoretically evaluate the effect of thermal processes on the allergenicity of various food proteins. For this purpose, we reviewed recent scientific advances concerning thermal treatments (pasteurization, sterilization, roasting, ...etc.) and their consequences on protein structure and, therefore, immunoreactivity. It has been demonstrated that thermal treatments modify the three-dimensional structure of proteins through denaturation. The reduction of allergenicity depends on the sensitivity of conformational epitopes to heat. Conversely, heat-stable proteins and linear epitopes retain their allergenic potential. The Maillard reaction plays an ambivalent role by masking certain sites or creating neo-allergens through glycation. Ultimately, the thermal impact is dictated by the intrinsic structure of the protein and the complexity of food matrix.