An Updated Overview of Almond Allergens.

Mário Bezerra,Miguel Ribeiro,Gilberto Igrejas

doi:10.3390/nu13082578

Mário Bezerra, Miguel Ribeiro + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13082578

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Abstract

Tree nuts are considered an important food in healthy diets. However, for part of the world’s population, they are one of the most common sources of food allergens causing acute allergic reactions that can become life-threatening. They are part of the Big Eight food groups which are responsible for more than 90% of food allergy cases in the United States, and within this group, almond allergies are persistent and normally severe and life-threatening. Almond is generally consumed raw, toasted or as an integral part of other foods. Its dietary consumption is generally associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases. Several almond proteins have been recognized as allergens. Six of them, namely Pru du 3, Pru du 4, Pru du 5, Pru du 6, Pru du 8 and Pru du 10, have been included in the WHO-IUIS list of allergens. Nevertheless, further studies are needed in relation to the accurate characterization of the already known almond allergens or putative ones and in relation to the IgE-binding properties of these allergens to avoid misidentifications. In this context, this work aims to critically review the almond allergy problematic and, specifically, to perform an extensive overview regarding known and novel putative almond allergens.

Highlights

Food allergies are a concerning issue affecting the worldwide population, and their prevalence has been increasing for the last couple of decades [1,2,3]
Globulin legumin-like protein), Pru du 4 and Pru du 3 and several other proteins belonging to other protein families and/or that do not have a name attributed by the Allergen Nomenclature Sub-Committee
Almond production has been increasing for the last years and is currently positioned as one of the most consumed tree nuts and one of the most likely to cause mild to severe allergic reactions

Summary

Introduction

Food allergies are a concerning issue affecting the worldwide population, and their prevalence has been increasing for the last couple of decades [1,2,3]. When new ones from specific species are identified, a distinctive name is given by the WHO/IUIS Allergen Nomenclature SubCommittee alongside the additional information about it. The (1) tryp_alpha_amyl protein family includes the higher number of known food allergens, which includes, for example, lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) and 2S albumin seed storage proteins; (2) cupin_1 protein family including the 7S vicilin seed storage proteins and the 11S legumin, and the (3) profilin family comprising profilins, are the most prominent ones [8]. Several proteins of these protein families have been already identified as allergens, namely Pru du 6 (11S globulin legumin-like protein), Pru du 4 (profilin) and Pru du 3 (nonspecific LTP) and several other proteins belonging to other protein families and/or that do not have a name attributed by the Allergen Nomenclature Sub-Committee

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