Cashew Nut Allergy: Clinical Relevance and Allergen Characterisation

Abstract

Cashew plant (Anacardium occidentale L.) is the most relevant species of the Anacardium genus. It presents high economic value since it is widely used in human nutrition and in several industrial applications. Cashew nut is a well-appreciated food (belongs to the tree nut group), being widely consumed as snacks and in processed foods by the majority of world's population. However, cashew nut is also classified as a potent allergenic food known to be responsible for triggering severe and systemic immune reactions (e.g. anaphylaxis) in sensitised/allergic individuals that often demand epinephrine treatment and hospitalisation. So far, three groups of allergenic proteins have been identified and characterised in cashew nut: Ana o 1 and Ana o 2 (cupin superfamily) and Ana o 3 (prolamin superfamily), which are all classified as major allergens. The prevalence of cashew nut allergy seems to be rising in industrialised countries with the increasing consumption of this nut. There is still no cure for cashew nut allergy, as well as for other food allergies; thus, the allergic patients are advised to eliminate it from their diets. Accordingly, when carefully choosing processed foods that are commercially available, the allergic consumers have to rely on proper food labelling. In this sense, the control of labelling compliance is much needed, which has prompted the development of proficient analytical methods for allergen analysis. In the recent years, significant research advances in cashew nut allergy have been accomplished, which are highlighted and discussed in this review.

Influence of Instant Controlled Pressure Drop (DIC) on Allergenic Potential of Tree Nuts

“…Finally, eight bands of pistachio and nine in cashew were manually excised for MALDI-TOF/TOF identification ( Figure S3 Ana o 3 was detected in bands 9, 10 and 10 but not in band 9 , suggesting that it is degraded into smaller fragments. These findings confirm the compatible location of pistachio and cashew allergens proposed in Figure 2 and agree with the protein identification by LC/MS/MS previously reported in the literature [5,11]. The results of protein identification by MS analysis (Figure S3 of supplementary material) indicate that some allergens are being degraded, explaining the reduction of immunoreactive proteins over DIC treatment in agreement with Cuadrado et al, [16].…”

Influence of Instant Controlled Pressure Drop (DIC) on Allergenic Potential of Tree Nuts

“…Regarding cashew nut reactions and symptoms; several US studies have described that it is the second most common cause of nut allergy, together with the walnut, presenting a frequency of 20% [10]. Cashew allergy seems to be increasing epidemiologically in recent years, especially in northern Europe, where data ranges from 5 to 20% depending on the country [11]. So far, three allergenic proteins in cashew have been identified and characterized: two of them belong to the cupin superfamily (Ana or 1 and Ana or 2) and one to the prolamine superfamily (Ana or 3) [12][13][14].…”

Crystal structure of nonspecific lipid transfer protein fromSolanum melongena

“…Certain metabolites have also been identified as allergens in eggplant . Apart from Solanaceae family, allergens are also known from other plant families like Poaceae family (Rice), Anacardiaceae family (Cashew), Fabaceae family (Peanut), and Lecythidaceae (Brazil nut) …”