Conjugation of functional oligosaccharides reduced in vitro allergenicity of β-lactoglobulin

Bovine β-lactoglobulin (βLG) was conjugated with fructooligosaccharides (FOS), galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and isomaltooligosacharides (IMO) by Maillard reaction in an effort to reduce the allergenicity of βLG. Fourier transform infrared spectra indicated that βLG was bound to FOS, GOS and IMO covalently. Structural analyses by dichroism spectra and fluorescence studies suggested that the surface of βLG in each conjugate was covered with oligosaccharides without apparent disruption of native conformation. The βLG-oligosaccharides conjugates almost maintained the retinol-binding activity of βLG. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay indicated that, conjugation of βLG with these functional oligosaccharides was effective in reducing the allergenicity of βLG.