Plasma antibody responses to grain legume proteins in weaned piglets

摘要

Experiments were conducted to investigate legume immunogenicity in weaned piglets. Diets contained either casein (control) or an equal protein mixture of casein and raw pea (Pisum sativum), faba bean (Vicia faba), narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius), Kabuli and desi chickpea (Cicer arietinum) or soybean (Glycine max) meal as their protein source. After four weeks of feeding, jugular blood was collected and plasma analysed for anti-legume protein IgG antibodies. The ELISA antibody titres to crude legume protein extracts were higher in the legume-fed piglets than in control animals, except for pea. This was accounted for by higher titres to 7S, but not to 11S, legume seed storage proteins. Western blotting revealed many immunogenic proteins corresponding mostly to the 7S protein family. Minor chickpea proteins were found to be highly immunogenic. Overall faba bean and chickpea seed were the most immunogenic.