development of elisa method for detecting crustacean major allergen tropomyosin in processed food samples

Crustacean aquatic products were recognized as allergenic food source and tropomyosin (tm) was identified as putative major allergen. at present, the most effective way to control allergenic incidence was avoidance of causative dietary source. this study reports the development of sandwich elisa for effective detection of tm in suspected food sources by pairing two tm-specific polyclonal antibodies obtained from different species. the lod was identified as 6.8 ng ml−1, with high specificity to the tm of shrimp and crab. no cross-reactivity was observed with the tm of fish, poultry, and mammalian. the mean recoveries in food matrices were range from 87.96 to 118.77%, by both intra- and inter-assay systems with coefficients of variation of < 10% and < 25%, respectively. the sandwich elisa can be effectively applied for detection of tm in commercial products available in the market. it facilitates the allergen labeling and management for allergenic crustacean food products by both manufacturing and regulatory agencies.