Abstract
To reveal, for the first time, the mechanism of T cell epitope release from β-lactoglobulin that induces oral immune tolerance, a strategy for the prediction, preparation, identification and application of β-lactoglobulin hydrolysate with oral immune tolerance was established using the bioinformatics method, hydrolysis, mass spectrometry, T cell proliferation assays and animal experiments. Some T cell epitope peptides of β-lactoglobulin were identified for the first time. The hydrolysates of trypsin, protamex and papain showed oral tolerance, among which the hydrolysates of protamex and papain have been reported for the first time. Although the neutral protease hydrolysate contained T cell epitopes, it still had allergenicity. The mechanism behind oral immune tolerance induction by T cell epitopes needs to be further revealed. In addition, the trypsin hydrolysate with abundant T cell epitopes was added to whey protein to prepare the product for oral immune tolerance. Overall, this study provides insights into the development of new anti-allergic milk-based products and their application in the clinical treatment of milk allergies.