Effect of pre-harvest and post-harvest conditions on the fruit allergenicity: A review

ABSTRACT

Fruits are an important source of vitamins and antioxidants that can effectively delay aging and contribute to health and well-being of the human kind. However, they are growing to be one of the primary elicitors of food allergies around the world. Fruit allergens can induce an IgE-mediated (Immunoglobulin E) reaction, presenting with a symptom like localized oral allergy syndrome (OAS). Numerous studies showed that varying environmental and cultivation conditions can influence the fruit allergen content during flowering and ripening stages. Further, the variety, harvesting maturity, and storage conditions can also significantly influence the allergenicity potential. For example, unripe apples and tomatoes have lower levels of allergens compared to ripened fruits. Researchers have also reported that modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) can help reduce Mal d 3 content present in apples during storage. Post-harvest processing like peeling is also considered a good method to help reduce the overall allergenicity in few fruits whose peel might contain majority of the allergens. This review will discuss the overall influence of both pre-harvest and post-harvest factors on the fruit allergens. We will also discuss the progress regarding the cause, symptoms and diagnostic methods of fruit based allergies.

KEYWORDS:

• Fruit allergy
• cross-reactivity
• storage
• pollen allergy
• harvesting maturity
• modified atmosphere package

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to China Scholarship Council (CSC) for its financial support. The authors would also like to acknowledge Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for supporting the research work.