Natural Variation of Hazelnut Allergenicity: Is There Any Potential for Selecting Hypoallergenic Varieties?

Miguel Ribeiro,Sandra Cabo,Michel Hébraud,Gilberto Igrejas,Joana Costa,Mélanie Hillion,Isabel Mafra,Berta Gonçalves,Ana Paula Silva

doi:10.3390/nu12072100

Abstract

Hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.) have an important role in human nutrition and health. However, they are a common cause of food allergy. Due to hazelnut varietal diversity, variety-dependent differences in the IgE-binding properties may be suspected, which could allow therapeutic strategies based on the use of hypoallergenic varieties to induce desensitization. In a proteogenomic approach, we aimed to evaluate the allergenic potential of a genetically diverse set of hazelnuts (n = 13 varieties). Minor differences were found at the level of genes encoding important allergens, namely Cor a 8, Cor a 9, and Cor a 14. Nevertheless, IgE-reactivity was similar for all varieties using sera from seven allergic individuals. The predominant IgE-reactive proteins were Cor a 9 (100%) and Cor a 1.04 (60%), with the former being the most frequently identified by a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE)-based proteomic approach. Therefore, it seems that the conventional exclusion diet will hold its ground for the time being.

Highlights

Food allergy is increasingly prevalent in our societies and represents today an emerging public health problem affecting children, adolescents, and adults
Our main objective was to assess the amplification profile of genes encoding allergens involved in severe allergic responses, such as Cor a 8, Cor a 9 and Cor a 14 [4,7], and to verify variety-dependent differences as a starting point for subsequent analyzes based on proteomics
Special attention is given to food-induced allergies, in which hazelnut allergy is highlighted

Summary

Introduction

Food allergy is increasingly prevalent in our societies and represents today an emerging public health problem affecting children, adolescents, and adults. Hazelnuts are generally regarded as “heart-protective” foods and are considered important in human nutrition and health due to their protein, fatty acid, vitamins, essential minerals, essential amino acids, phenolics and dietary fiber composition [4]. They are one of the most common triggers of IgE-mediated food allergies, being a major source of allergens capable of inducing mild to severe allergic reactions [5]. The USA presents the highest relative prevalence of sensitization to hazelnut (14.9%), followed by Germany (14.7%), Norway (12.8%), Switzerland (12.6%), and Sweden (11.8%) [6]

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