title: An overview of fruit allergy and the causative allergens.
abstract: Plant allergens, being one of the most widespread allergenic substances, are hard to avoid. Hence, their identification and characterization are of prime importance for the diagnosis and treatment of food allergy. The reported allergies to fruits mainly evoke oral allergy syndrome caused by the presence of cross-reactive IgE to certain pollens and thus, allergy to fruits has also been linked to particular pollens. Many fruit allergies are being studied for their causative allergens, and are being characterized. Some tropical or exotic fruits are responsible for region-specific allergies for which only limited information is available, and generally lack allergen characterization. From a survey of the literature on fruit allergy, it is clear that some common fruits (apple, peach, musk melon, kiwi fruit, cherry, grape, strawberry, banana, custard apple, mango and pomegranate) and their allergens appear to be at the center of current research on food allergy. The present review focuses on common fruits reported as allergenic and their identified allergens; a brief description of allergens from six rare/tropical fruits is also covered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, CSIR - Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI), Mysore 570020, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: A K G
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, CSIR - Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI), Mysore 570020, Karnataka, India. Phone: +91 8212514876 Fax: +91 821 251 7233 E-mail: venkatyp@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Y P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Venkatesh
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D003429:Cross Reactions; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D005638:Fruit / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D014674:Plant Proteins, Dietary / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000276:immunology; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012882:Skin Tests
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D015415:Biomarkers; D014674:Plant Proteins, Dietary; D007073:Immunoglobulin E
keywords: Allergens; cross-reactivity; fruit allergy; oral allergy syndrome; tropical fruits