Influence des traitements thermiques et acides sur l’allergénicité des protéines d’arachide au niveau de la population de la région Fès-Meknès au Maroc

Abstract

Peanuts are one of the major allergens responsible for food allergy in children and adults. The prevalence of peanut allergy varies according to the country, which can be explained by the different habits of eating peanuts in the populations concerned. The objectives of the present work were, first, to evaluate the sensitivity to peanuts in the population in the region of Fès-Meknès in Maroc, and then to study the effect of acid treatment and heating on the allergenicity of peanut proteins. A cross-sectional study had been carried out at the University Hospital in Fès and at analytical laboratories in Meknès in which 442 adults were recruited to establish a serum bank. A detailed questionnaire on possible allergies was completed by these patients. This serum bank was used to evaluate specific IgE reactivity to peanut and the reactivity of this IgE to native and to heat- and acid-treated peanut proteins. Immunoblots were also done to characterize the allergenic components. The results showed that 9.5% of the patients reported allergy to food. Among these patients, 4.2% reported allergy to eggs, 2.5% to peanuts and 0.4 % to wheat flour. The study of the effect of temperature and acidity on the allergenicity of peanut proteins showed that it was reduced by more than 30% by heating at 100°C and by acid treatment in sera of 50% of the patients. With a combination of these treatments, 81.3% of the sera showed a reduction of greater than 30%. Immunoblots showed that the majority of the sera reacted with Arah1. This reactivity was strongly reduced by treatment of the peanut proteins, especially by treatment with acid.