Dual influences of the allergenicity of Atlantic cod parvalbumin fermented by Lactobacillus helveticus

Parvalbumin (PV) is the major fish allergen. Previous studies demonstrated that employing Lh191404 in fermentation could reduce the immunogenicity of Atlantic cod. However, a comprehensive allergenicity evaluation of the fermented PV (F-PV) by Lh191404 had not been investigated. In this study, we found that the reduction in allergenicity of the F-PV changed irregularly. In vitro experiments indicated that the IgE antibody-binding capacity of the F-48h (fermented for 48 h) significantly decreased, comparing with the F-0h samples, reaching its lowest level at F-60h. Results from BALB/c mice experiments agree with these findings, but show not exactly the same intensity. Proteomics and untargeted metabolomics analysis identified that fermentation not only disrupted the antigenic epitopes of PV, but also led to the production of anti-allergy compounds (e.g., Flavokawain B, Gramine) and significant alterations in metabolic pathways. This study demonstrates that fermentation with Lh191404 significantly disrupts the parvalbumin structure while producing the metabolites with anti-allergy activity.