Enzyme immunoassay for the detection of porcine gelatine in edible bird’s nests

Abstract

Porcine gelatine is a common adulterant found in edible bird’s nests (EBNs) used to increase the net weight prior to sale. This study aimed to develop indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for porcine gelatine adulteration using anti-peptide polyclonal antibodies. Three indirect ELISAs were developed (PAB1, 2 and 3), which had limits of detection (LODs) of 0.12, 0.10 and 0.11 µg g^–1, respectively. When applied to standard solutions of porcine gelatine, the inter- and intra-assays showed coefficients of variation (CVs) less than 20% and were able to detect at least 0.5 ng µg^–1 (0.05%) porcine gelatine in spiked samples. The proposed ELISA offers attractions for quality control in the EBN industry.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• edible bird’s nest
• gelatine
• adulterant
• ELISA

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Science Fund [project number 02-01-04-SF1447] from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), Malaysia.