Effect of simulated digestion on antigenicity of banana prawn (Fenneropenaeus merguiensis) after high pressure processing at different temperatures

Changes in tropomyosin derived antigenicity of banana prawn (Fenneropenaeus merguiensis) due to high pressure processing (HPP) at 600 MPa for 5 or 10 min at various temperatures (40, 80, 120 °C) were investigated. HPP of prawn samples at 40 and 80 °C for 5 min increased tropomyosin derived antigenicity by almost double, whereas HPP at 120 °C for 10 min decreased antigenicity by 65%, detected using ELISA kit. A significant (P ≤ 0.05) reduction of tropomyosin antigenicity after pepsin digestion was noticeable in prawns after HPP, but not in control prawn sample. However, further digestion of the control and HPP sample with pancreatin enzyme decreased antigenicity to ∼0 mg mL-1. The combination of HPP and high temperature (120 °C) in the current study can potentially reduce tropomyosin-derived antigenicity in whole prawn muscle, whereas SIF digestion with pancreatin enzyme may present a new prospective method to produce hypo-antigenic, enzymatically digested prawn products.