Influence of technological processing on the allergenicity of tomato products

Tomato contains at least two different lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) that are responsible for the oral allergy syndrome. In this paper, our attention was addressed on the influence of two technological treatments (chemical peeling and thermal treatment) on IgE-binding capacity of tomato LTP. Chemical peeling did not significantly alter IgE-binding capacity of tomato LTP. IgE immunoblotting of whole fresh tomato and of the same after chemical peeling showed the same protein bands able to bind patients' IgE. Furosine, an indicator of intensities of thermal treatment sustained by the products, was analyzed in some commercial tomato products of different types. Products with furosine index between 2.8 and 17.6 substantially presented the same immunoblotting pattern. The heat resistance of tomato LTP confirms once again the extreme stability of this allergen.