Almond ELISA Kit

Almond (Prunus dulcis) belongs to the rosaceae. With 25 % the fraction of proteins in almond is high. Some of these proteins are known for being aller­genic. In addition to profilin which is known to be cross-reactive to grass pollen, the almond major protein AMP has the greatest relevancy. AMP is known to be heat resistant making it stable to different production processes. For this reason almond represents an important food allergen. For almond allergic persons hidden almond allergens in food are a critical problem. Already very low amounts of almond can cause allergic reactions, which may lead to anaphylactic shock in severe cases. Because of this, almond allergic per­sons must strictly avoid the consumption of almonds or almond containing food. Crosscontamination, most­ly in consequence of the production pro­cess is often noticed. The chocolate production pro­cess is a repre­sentative example. This explains why in many cases the existence of almond residues in foods can­not be excluded. For this reason sensitive detection systems for almond residues in food­stuffs are required. The Almond ELISA represents a highly sensitive detection system and is particularly cap-able of the quantification of almond residues in cookies, cereals, ice cream and chocolate.