Heat as a Double-Edged Sword: Modulating Allergenicity, Nutritional Quality, and Structural Integrity of Atlantic Cod Through Thermal Treatments
摘要
Fish as one of the “big nine” allergenic foods can trigger food allergies to threaten public health. This study assesses the impact of various thermal treatments (including oven, steam, microwave, wet heat, and dry heat) at 100 °C for 10 min on the allergenicity, conformation, and nutritional value of Atlantic cod. The results indicated most thermal treatments effectively reduced cod allergenicity by 7.80–46.33%, with steam demonstrating the highest reduction in allergenicity (46.33%) and the highest in vitro protein digestibility (55.29%). Conversely, dry heat treatment uniquely increased cod allergenicity by 5.31%, while it also led to a maximum enhancement in protein (52.45%) and peptide content (15.52%) after the two-stage digestion. Changes in the secondary and tertiary structures were noted with higher β-sheets and lower α-helices. Structural disruptions including fragments and micro-holes became more pronounced with extended processing durations. These findings highlight the dual role of thermal processing in Atlantic cod, suggesting opportunities to develop hypoallergenic fish products through tailored thermal processing techniques.