Effect of Conjugation of Cow Milk Whey Protein with Polyethylene Glycol on Changes in their Immunoreactive and Allergic Properties

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was conjugated with milk proteins to determine the changes of the immunoreactive properties of α-lactalbumin (α-la) and -lactoglobulin (-lg). The competitive ELISA method was applied to determine the antigenicity of modified protein, using rabbit polyclonal antibodies. The immunoreactivity decreased to 0.90 g ml-1 α-la (which corresponded with 0.05%) and 0.14 g ml^-1 -lg (which corresponded with 0.08% of the immunoreactivity observed in raw milk). The determination of allergenicity of modified whey proteins was carried out on a group of 10 allergic patients and it was insignificantly weaker than that of a control sample of milk allergens.