Rapid porcine detection in gelatin-based highly processed products using loop mediated isothermal amplification

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Molecular Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Detecting porcine DNA in processed gelatin is challenging due to low DNA concentration.
• Conventional PCR methods are often insufficient for identifying porcine contamination in such products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a porcine-specific loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay.
• To identify porcine traces in gelatin and gelatin-based products.

Main Methods:

• Designed porcine-specific primers targeting the Cytochrome b gene mitochondrial DNA.
• Utilized two reaction mixtures (GENIE and MYRM) for the LAMP assay.
• Tested primer specificity against 14 different meat species DNA.

Main Results:

• The LAMP assay demonstrated high specificity for *Sus scrofa* (porcine) DNA.
• Analytical sensitivity was as low as 1 pg/µL for porcine DNA detection.
• Five out of 32 gelatin product samples tested positive for porcine DNA, with three unlabeled as such.

Conclusions:

• The developed LAMP assay is a rapid, sensitive, and specific method for detecting porcine DNA in gelatin products.
• This assay can identify undeclared porcine ingredients, improving food safety and authenticity.
• LAMP offers a viable alternative to conventional PCR for analyzing highly processed food matrices.