| Abstract: | Soybean allergy represents a health threat to human and animals. Glycinin and β-conglycinin, the main storage proteins in soybean, have been identified as major food/feed allergens. The present study was conducted to investigate the disappearance of immunoreactive glycinin and β-conglycinin in the digestive processes of piglets. Twelve crossbred piglets, weaned at 21 days of age, were allocated to three dietary treatments in a complete block design, each treatment with four replicates (female/male = 1:1). From day 22–28, the control group was fed diets without leguminous products, while the two treatment groups received diets containing 2.2% purified glycinin or β-conglycinin. All piglets were slaughtered at 29 days of age and digesta was sampled from stomach, middle jejunum, caecum and colon. Results indicated that immunoreactive glycinin and β-conglycinin decreased as the digesta descended down the digestive tract to 0.12% and 0.47%, respectively. Little immunoreactive glycinin was found in the digesta of caecum and colon, while immunoreactive β-conglycinin was detected in the colon. Along the whole digestive tract the disappearance of immunoreactive glycinin was significantly higher than β-conglycinin (p < 0.05). |
