Antigenic and allergenic properties of acidic and basic peptide chains from glycinin

Abstract
The acidic and basic peptide chains from the soyabean storage protein glycinin were isolated and tested for antigenic and allergenic properties. All acidic chains reacted similarly with antibodies from rabbits raised against native glycinin, indicating a very homogeneous structure. The basic chains did not react with the antibodies in this trial. The total reaction towards the isolated chains accounted for 25% of the total reaction towards native glycinin, suggesting a relatively large proportion of conformational epitopes on the intact molecule. Similar studies using sera from soya‐allergic patients showed the same reaction patterns, which indicates that no specific chain is entirely responsible for the observed adverse reactions towards soya protein.