Quantitative sandwich ELISA for the determination of fish in foods

J Immunol Methods. 2008 Jan 1;329(1-2):45-55. doi: 10.1016/j.jim.2007.09.007. Epub 2007 Oct 16.

Abstract

Allergy to fish represents one of the most prevalent causes for severe food-allergic reactions. Therefore, food authorities in different countries have implemented mandatory labeling of fish in pre-packed foods. Detection of fish proteins in food has previously been based on the use of patient serum. In the present study, a novel sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the quantitation of fish in food matrixes has been developed and validated, using a polyclonal rabbit anti-cod parvalbumin antibody for capture and a biotinylated conjugate of the same antibody for detection. By employing the ubiquitous muscle protein parvalbumin as target the method succeeds to detect a variety of fish. However, the ELISA is specific for fish and does not cross-react with other species. Recoveries ranged from 68-138% in typical food matrixes, while the intra- and inter-assay precisions were <12% and <19%, respectively. The sensitivity of the cod parvalbumin ELISA with a limit of detection of 0.01 mg parvalbumin/kg food, about 5 mg fish/kg food, seems sufficient to detect fish protein traces in foods at levels low enough to minimize the risk for fish allergic consumers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Allergens / analysis*
  • Allergens / immunology
  • Allergens / isolation & purification
  • Animals
  • Antibodies*
  • Antibody Specificity
  • Biotinylation
  • Calibration
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay* / standards
  • Fish Proteins / analysis*
  • Fish Proteins / immunology
  • Fish Proteins / isolation & purification
  • Food Analysis / methods*
  • Food Analysis / standards
  • Food Contamination*
  • Food Hypersensitivity / prevention & control
  • Gadus morhua
  • Humans
  • Parvalbumins / analysis*
  • Parvalbumins / immunology
  • Parvalbumins / isolation & purification
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Species Specificity

Substances

  • Allergens
  • Antibodies
  • Fish Proteins
  • Parvalbumins