High-oleic peanuts are not different from normal peanuts in allergenic properties.

Abstract

High-oleic peanuts are known for a high content of oleic fatty acid. However, it is not known whether high-oleic peanuts are different from normal chemistry peanuts in levels of allergenicity and end-product adducts (i.e., products cross-linked with proteins). For this purpose, four different peanut cultivars (Florunner, Georgia Green, NC 9, and NC 2) were evaluated and compared with high-oleic peanuts (SunOleic 97R). Adducts such as AGE/CML from Maillard reactions and MDA/HNE from lipid oxidation were determined, respectively, in ELISA, using polyclonal antibodies. Allergenicity was determined based on IgE binding and T-cell proliferation. Results showed that raw high-oleic peanuts were not different from normal peanuts in adduct levels. After roasting, CML and HNE levels remained unchanged, but an increased and similar amounts of AGE adducts were found in all peanuts. MDA also increased but not in high-oleic peanuts. This suggests that high-oleic peanuts are more stable to lipid oxidation than others during heating. Despite this, high-oleic peanuts did not differ from normal peanuts in IgE binding and T-cell proliferation. It was concluded that a high content of oleic fatty acid has no effect on peanut allergenicity and that high-oleic peanuts do not give a higher or lower risk of allergy than normal peanuts.