Specific detection by the polymerase chain reaction of potentially allergenic salmonid fish residues in processed foods

DNA, protein and aptamer-based methods for seafood allergens detection: Principles, comparisons and updated applications

The increasing number of people with seafood allergy has caused a series of problems for practitioners and consumers in the seafood industry year by year. Thereby, development of efficient, convenient and low-cost allergen detection methods is urgently needed. This review introduces three important existing seafood allergen detection methods associated with DNA-based, protein-based and aptamer-based. Their principles and biological characteristics are firstly presented. The core of these three methods are DNA amplification techniques, specific binding of antigens and antibodies, and specific binding of aptamers and ligands, respectively. Among them, DNA-based detection method is an indirect analysis, which takes the gene of allergen as the detection object and is characterized by good stability and high sensitivity. Protein-based and aptamer-based, methods employ indirect analysis for allergen detection. The difference is that the latter uses an easily synthesized and highly efficient aptamer as the detection probe, showing great promising potentials. The advantages and disadvantages of the three mentioned detection methods are also discussed. In the future, as more efficient and reliable detection methods for seafood allergens come into practice, the possibility of seafood allergy patients eating seafood products by mistake will be greatly reduced, which will ensure the food safety and the health of allergy patients.

Simultaneous detection of eight species of tree nut in foods using two tetraplex polymerase chain reaction assays

Tree nuts comprise a category of food allergens that must be included in the food labels in several countries. We developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using eight specific primer pairs to detect eight representative tree nuts (almond, Brazil nut, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia nut, pecan, pistachio, and walnut) under the same experimental conditions. The specificity of the eight primer pairs was confirmed by PCR testing against a variety of plant and animal samples. The detection limit of the method ranged from 1 fg to 1 pg DNA of individual tree nuts. The method detected tree nut DNA in processed and unprocessed food. In addition, the primer pairs could be combined into two sets of tetraplex PCR system. The developed method is specific, sensitive, and efficient, making it useful for detecting trace amounts of eight species of tree nut in foods.