What is the Allergen Cross-Reactivity Rate of Legumes?

Discussion There are 8 common foods which compromise 90% of food allergens with those being peanuts, soybeans, cow’s milk, eggs, fish, crustacean/shellfish, wheat and tree nuts. Some people believe that lupin (a legume) is 9th. Legumes belong to the Fabaceae family. They provide protein, fat, vitamins other essential nutrients and therefore are used in the human diet throughout the world. “[A]llergenicity due to consumption of legumes in decreasing order may be peanut, soybean, lentil, chickpea, pea, mung bean and red gram.” Other common legumes include alfalfa, clovers, beans, lupins, mesquite, carob, and red kidney bean. Different legumes are consumed in different countries and therefore the prevalence of allergenicity to those legumes will be different. For example, legumes have a higher sensitization rate in Spain (5th most common reason for allergies) and India. Lupin is grown in Mediterranean countries and has a high rate of allergens in this area particularly Italy. Lupin seeds are eaten as a snack or it is ground and used as flour. It is becoming more commonly consumed in other Western European countries and in the same geographical areas there are also an increase of people with these allergies. In India, allergies to lentils, chickpeas, red gram and moong are more common. The allergenicity of legumes is IgE mediated. The protein allergens are characterized into 4 main groupings including storage proteins (i.e. seed storage), profilins or othe...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news