Data on the conjugation of caffeine and its derivative caffeinidine with bovine serum albumin and their use to produce antisera are reported here. Chickens were immunized with the conjugates and antisera were extracted from egg yolks. In immunoprecipitation assays it was verified that both antisera were efficient against their respective antigens. It was also observed that the methyl position in mono and dimethylxanthines played a role in the recognition by the antisera. Methyl at N-3 position seemed to be important for the precipitation by the antisera produced to caffeinidine-BSA conjugate. On the other hand, methylation at N-7 position was important for caffeine-BSA conjugate. The advantages of each antisera and their potential application in imunological tests as a tool to determine total purine alkaloids in plant material and derived foodstuffs are discussed.
antisera; caffeine; caffeinidine; hapten; immunoprecipitation
