Abstract
Legumes are important food allergens. Their major allergenic components are seed storage proteins and PR-10 proteins.
We decided to investigate the sensitization profiles of specific IgE antibodies to distinct legumes in a large group of patients examined by multiplex system ALEX. We also studied the history of clinical reactions to legumes in sensitized patients and possible cross-reactivity to other allergens, i.e., tree nuts, seeds, or PR-10 proteins.
Our study group included 689 patients; almost a quarter of them (24%) was sensitized to some legume. Sensitization to peanuts (n=122) and soybean (n=98) prevailed, begin followed by sensitization to lentil and the relative legumes.
A positive history of clinical reactions was most frequently to peanuts (17 patients); however, clinical reactions to lentil and the relative legumes prevailed (11 patients) over that induced by soybean (4 patients). The clinical reactions were predominantly systemic, mainly due to sensitization to seed storage protoeins.
Though lentil and the realitve legumes are not considered to be prominent food allergens, their importance is significantly higher in our country compared to soybean, and thus we should pay increased attention to them.