An approach to quality control of cockroach allergen extracts in india using electrophoresis and biochemical methods

The high prevalence of patients with asthma caused by cockroach allergens has been reported around the world as well as in India (30%). The crude non-standardized cockroach extracts are still used for diagnosis and treatment. Commercial cockroach allergen extracts are reported to vary in protein content and electrophoretic banding patterns indicating to batch to batch variations and pose a challenge to the clinicians for accurate diagnosis and efficacious immunotherapy (Gaur et al., 2009; Burastero 2011; Özdemir 2014). The batch to batch variation in cockroach extracts may be minimized by an appropriate dialysis method and using electrophoresis and biochemical techniques for quality control.