For peanut allergy, no roasted peanuts

For peanut allergy, no roasted peanuts

09/23/2014

Fat-free roasted peanuts are more likely to cause peanut allergy in sensitive individuals than raw peanuts. This was the result of a study by a British research team headed by Quentin Sattentau of the University of Oxford. Thus, the preparation of peanuts plays an essential role in allergies.

Peanuts are prepared very differently
Peanuts are included in numerous products. Whether pure, salted, roasted, peanut butter, in chocolate or processed to cooking oil or biodiesel - the legumes, which are actually no nuts, enjoy great popularity. For allergy sufferers, however, they can be a great danger, even if only small amounts are contained in a product. The symptoms of an acute peanut allergy range from hives and swelling in the mouth to respiratory problems to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. About 1.3 percent of the total population is said to be affected by a peanut allergy.

Quentin Sattentau and his team wanted to find out what influence peanut cooking might have on allergies. For in East Asia, where peanuts are consumed primarily as oil, raw or cooked, the proportion of people with a peanut allergy is much lower than in the Western world, where the fat-free roasting of legumes is widespread.

The researchers isolated the proteins from dry roasted and raw peanuts and gave them to mice, either injecting the protein under the skin, applying it to the skin, or administering it orally. As it turned out, the immune reactions were very different.

Altered proteins
In the experimental setup, the mice got proteins from roasted peanuts. The animals then showed a much stronger immune response than the experimental group B, which was fed only raw proteins. The scientists suspect that the temperatures during roasting carry a significant responsibility for this. "Dry roasting produced chemical changes in the proteins that are believed to activate the immune system against later contact with the peanuts," reports study author Amin Moghaddam. However it is „too early to discourage the consumption of roasted peanuts“. Further studies and scientific work would have to confirm the results. „We are just at the beginning“.

The work could also benefit the food industry. „If improved roasting methods were invented, the negative protein changes could be avoided.“