ABSTRACT
A study on heterogeneity in water-soluble and non-water-soluble protein profiles of different species of Brassica pollen, seeds, and industrial flour for efficient allergy detection and immunotherapy has been lacking in India. The purpose of this study was to examine heterogeneity in the protein profile of antigenic extracts of different species of pollen, seeds, and seed flour of Brassica. A comparison of water-soluble and non-water-soluble protein profiles of seed extracts was studied. Water-soluble and non-water-soluble proteins were extracted, concentration was estimated by Lowry's method, and biochemical characterization by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was analyzed. Pollen from four species, four species of Brassica seeds comprising 25 varieties, and industrial seed flour were included for water-soluble studies, whereas four species of seeds were included for non-water-soluble protein extraction. Significant variation in protein content was observed among four different species of pollen, seeds, and industrial seed flour, respectively. No significant variation was observed in non-water-soluble extracts of four species or among water-soluble and non-water-soluble content of seeds. Heterogeneity in the protein profile of different species of pollen was not observed. However, variation in banding pattern of water-soluble as well as non-water-soluble protein extracts among four different species of seeds was observed. Interestingly, the industrial seed flour also showed a rich protein banding pattern. Variation in protein content as well as protein profile among different species of seeds of Brassica is recorded.
