OPTIMIZATION OF COUNTERCURRENT IMMUNOELECTROPHORESIS AND AGAR GEL IMMUNODIFFUSION TESTS FOR THE COMPARATIVE DETECTION OF HORSE AND DONKEY MEAT

Meat is the rich source of many essential amino acids (valine, lysine, methionine, leucine, tryptophan, isoleucine, phenylalanine and threonine), vitamins (Vitamin D, B6 and B12) and a very good source of nutrients. Meat is also a good source of iron that is very necessary for human body and helps in maintenance of health. The major issue in meat market now a days is the adulteration of meat with other cheap meat and unhealthy items. To avoid this adulteration in meat, authenticity has become necessary. There are many techniques for the detection of adulteration in meat but, the best techniques to detect meat protein in raw as well as in cooked meat are Agarose Gel Immunodiffusion (AGID) and Countercurrent Immunoelectrophoresis (CCIE). Meat extracts (antigens) are prepared from horse and donkey meat samples and rising of hyper immune sera is done against these antigens in rabbits. 0ut of 20 samples, 18 samples are positive that indicate equine species have similar meat proteins. For cross reactivity, both antisera show small precipitation line with antigens (horse meat extract and donkey meat extract) and antiserum against donkey meat protein give clear results. CCIE is faster, cheaper, and sensitive technique than AGID.