Quantification of Allergic Crustacean Tropomyosin Using Shared Signature Peptides in Processed Foods with a Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomic Strategy

Abstract

Crustacean shellfish are major allergens in East Asia. In the present study, a major allergic protein in crustaceans, tropomyosin, was detected accurately using multiple reaction monitoring mode-based mass spectrometry, with shared signature peptides identified through proteomic analysis. The peptides were deliberately screened through thermal stability and enzymatic digestion efficiency to improve the suitability and accuracy of the developed method. Finally, the proposed method demonstrated a linear range of 0.15 to 30 mg TM /kg food (R 2 > 0.99), with a limit of detection of 0.15 mg TM /kg food and a limit of quantification of 0.5mg TM /kg food and successfully applied to commercially processed foods, such as potato chips, biscuits, surimi, and hot pot seasonings, which evidenced the applicability of proteomics-based methodology for food allergen analysis.