Effect of Cultivar, Cultivation and Storage Conditions on the Apple Allergen Mal d 1

It has been reported on the basis of skin prick tests that apple cultivars differ in their allergenic potential. Only a few studies tried to measure the amount of the major apple allergen Mal d 1 so far. Mal d 1 belongs to the pathogenesis-related proteins, a family of proteins that are induced by pathogens and environmental stress. Due to cross-reactivity between Bet v 1 and proteins present in several plant derived foods, birch pollen allergic patients develop food allergies, most frequently to apples. Mal d 1 content was quantified in different apple cultivars, cultivated at the Research stations Klein-Altendorf and Bavendorf, in dependence on cultivation method and storage conditions by Sandwich-ELISA. Apple cultivars differ considerably in their Mal d 1 content. Highest amounts of Mal d 1 were determined in cvs Rubens and Gala fruit. The lowest content was found in the cultivars Braeburn and Elstar. High variability in Mal d 1 content was found between the two locations for the same apple cultivars. In most cases organic and integrated cultivated fruit did not differ in their Mal d 1 content. In Jonagold fruit cultivated at Bavendorf significant higher amounts of Mal d 1 were found in the integrated produced fruit. At harvest the detected concentration of Mal d 1 was low, but during storage the Mal d 1 content increased significantly.