Abstract: This work was performed to study the allergenicity of ovomucoid (OVO) and to establish an animal model for this purpose. The OVO-induced anaphylactic shock in guinea pigs and the Schultz-Dale response of intestinal smooth muscle from sensitized guinea pigs when it was in vitro exposed to OVO were observed. The results obtained were as follows: (1) All the guinea pigs stimulated by ovalbumin at different dosages suffered from anaphylactic shock and finally died. The systemic allergic reactions were extremely positive (the score was 4 points). The systemic allergic reactions induced by ovomucoid were similar to those induced by 1 mg/mL ovalbumin (P > 0.05) and were 100% positive (the score was 2.04– 3.68), causing the death of most of the animals. The effect of ovomucoid was dose dependent and an average score of 3.68 was observed at a dose of 4 mg/mL. (2) Ovomucoid was similarly effective as ovalbumin (P > 0.05) in enhancing smooth muscle contraction in Schultz-Dale reaction. Muscle contractility showed the highest percentage of change (538.5%) when stimulated with 2 mg/mL of ovomucoid. (3) Serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels of guinea pigs stimulated by ovalbumin and ovomucoid were both obviously higher than those of the control group and their effects were dose dependent. In conclusion, the animal model developed (in vivo and in vitro) in this research allowed to detect the allergenicity of OVO and evaluate its elimination and reduction.

Key words: ovomucoid, ovalbumin, animal model, anaphylactic shock, Schultz-Dale reaction