Mass Spectrometry Advances in Seafood Allergen Detection and Quantification

Allergies to food is a growing global health concern, with one of the most significant sources of allergic reactions being seafood. As the primary allergens responsible for fish and shellfish allergies are β-parvalbumins and tropomyosin, ensuring food safety requires precise and reliable methods for the detection and quantification of these molecules.

Researchers at the Spanish National Research Council’s Institute of Marine Research authored a review article published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (1) exploring mass spectroscopy (MS)-based approaches for the detection and quantification of seafood allergens, with a focus on technological advancements, current challenges, and future perspectives to enhance food safety and regulatory compliance.

Food allergies are pathological immune reactions which are triggered by the eating of food protein antigens, known as allergens. For those affected by allergies, their immune systems overreact to these substances. Exposure to these allergenic foods, even in minimal amounts, can trigger an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated response in some individuals, which can lead to clinical symptoms that range from gastrointestinal disorders and airway inflammation to life-threatening anaphylactic reactions (2-4).

Food allergies are more common in children and tend to decline with age (2-4). While there is little accurate epidemiological data, food allergies are estimated to 6–8% of young children and 3–4% of adults (5), with prevalence appearing to be on the rise (3-6). Furthermore, there is no cure for food allergies, and the only available approach is for sufferers to strictly avoid the foods which trigger their allergies. For these reasons, food allergy represents a critical health concern, highlighting the crucial need for efficient approaches in prevention, diagnosis, and management, thus inspiring the researchers to conduct this study (1).

Proteomics has emerged as a fundamental tool in the advancement of studying these allergy-triggering antigens as well as supporting the development of effective prevention and control strategies. As traditional detection techniques such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) have weaknesses, modern MS offers a higher degree of specificity, reproducibility, and the ability to perform multiplexed and parallel analyses of peptides and proteins (7). Bioinformatic analysis of MS data has driven notable advancements, an expanse of analytical capabilities, and innovation in high-throughput protein analysis. As a result, liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has been widely adopted in the study and monitoring of allergens (8-10).

The authors of the article state that LC-MS has brought about significant advancements in the detection and quantification of seafood allergens, offering superior specificity, sensitivity, and multiplexing capabilities compared to previous methods. These technologies have allowed for the expansion of cutting-edge methods for precise detection and quantification of major seafood allergens, as in addition to their characterization, sequencing, and structural analysis (1).

Despite these advances, however, the authors believe that there are several challenges which remain before these techniques can be routinely employed in analytical laboratories. These include the need for more accessible methodologies, standardized reference materials, and broader coverage of seafood species. Continued research using MS-based tools will support the development of innovative solutions such as biosensors and hypoallergenic protein variants, helping to overcome current limitations in seafood allergy detection and management. In this sense, the authors suppose that the next steps will involve investigating seafood allergen PTMs, assessing their potential cross-reactivity among species, and expanding the available database (1).

References

1. Amado M. G.; Pazos, M.; Carrera, M. Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics for Seafood Allergen Detection and Quantification: Current Trends and Technological Frontiers. Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Sep 15;26(18):8962. DOI: 10.3390/ijms26188962
2. Dramburg, S.; Hilger, C.; Santos, A. F. et al. EAACI Molecular Allergology User’s Guide 2.0. Pediatr. Allergy Immunol. 2023, 34, e13854. DOI: 10.1111/pai.13854
3. Peters, R. L.; Krawiec, M.; Koplin, J. J. et al. Update on Food Allergy. Pediatr. Allergy Immunol. 2021, 32, 647–657.DOI: 10.1111/pai.13443
4. Sicherer, S. H.; Sampson, H. A. Food Allergy: A Review and Update on Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 2018, 141, 41–58. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.11.003
5. Iweala, O. I.; Choudhary, S. K.; Commins, S. P. Food Allergy. Curr. Gastroenterol. Rep. 2018, 20, 17. DOI: 10.1007/s11894-018-0624-y
6. Tang, M. L. K.; Mullins, R. J. Food Allergy: Is Prevalence Increasing? Intern. Med. J. 2017, 47, 256–261 DOI: 10.1111/imj.13362
7. Aebersold, R.; Mann, M. Mass-Spectrometric Exploration of Proteome Structure and Function. Nature 2016, 537, 347–355. DOI: 10.1038/nature19949
8. Marzano, V.; Tilocca, B.; Fiocchi, A.Get al. Perusal of Food Allergens Analysis by Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics. J. Proteom. 2020, 215, 103636. DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2020.103636
9. Carrera, M.; Pazos, M.; Gasset, M. Proteomics-Based Methodologies for the Detection and Quantification of Seafood Allergens. Foods 2020, 9, 1134. DOI: 10.3390/foods9081134
10. Korte, R.; Oberleitner, D.; Brockmeyer, J. Determination of Food Allergens by LC-MS: Impacts of Sample Preparation, Food Matrix, and Thermal Processing on Peptide Detectability and Quantification. J. Proteom. 2019, 196, 131–140. DOI: 10.1016/j.jprot.2018.11.002