Structural stability and Sin a 1 anti-epitope antibody binding ability of yellow mustard (Sinapis alba L.) napin during industrial-scale myrosinase inactivation process

Abstract

This study investigated the structural stability of yellow mustard (YM, Sinapis alba L.) napin and the changes of its Sin a 1 anti-epitope antibody-binding ability during myrosinase enzyme inactivation process. The food industry uses myrosinase-inactive non-pungent YM for uses beyond spice applications. Napin was isolated from seeds received from an industrial processor before (YM + M) and after (YM − M) myrosinase inactivation. Secondary and tertiary structural features and surface hydrophobicity parameters of napin were analyzed. The Sin a 1 content in YM seeds and the stability of Sin a 1-containing napin during simulated in vitro gastrointestinal (GI) digestion were determined by a non-competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the Sin a 1 anti-epitope antibody (AE-Ab) as the primary Ab. YM napin retained the dominant alpha-helical components of secondary and tertiary structure folds during this process. YM − M napin showed changes in hydrophobicity parameters of the molecules and binding ability of AE-Ab: 2.19 ± 0.48 g per 100 g of YM − M seeds vs. 1.49 ± 0.16 g per 100 g YM + M seeds. YM − M proteins were more susceptible for in vitro GI digestion and also showed a 30% reduction in AE-Ab binding ability upon digestion of napins. This suggests that the myrosinase inactivation process has induced the surface modification of napin, exposing Sin a 1 epitope, leading to an increase in AE-Ab binding. However, the epitope region of YM − M napin showed improved susceptibility for hydrolysis during GI digestion resulting in fewer available epitope regions, suggesting a possible reduction in napin immune reactivity.