Soybean allergy: characteristics, mechanisms, detection and its reduction through novel food processing techniques

Abstract

Human beings have consumed soybean as an excellent food source for thousand years due to its rich protein, fatty acids, minerals, and fibers. However, soybeans were recognized as one of the big eight allergens resulting in allergic symptoms and even could lead to death. With the increasing demand for soybean products, the challenges caused by soybean allergy need to be solved urgently. This review detailly described the pathogenesis and clinical characteristics of soybean allergy, and also the advantages and disadvantages of four different diagnostic methods were summarized. The major soybean allergens and their structures were summarized. Three types of soybean allergy including Type I, III, and IV, which could trigger allergic reactions were reported in this review. Summary in four different diagnostic methods showed that double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge is recognized as a gold standard for diagnosing soybean allergy. Three types of processing techniques in reducing soybean allergy were discussed, and the results concluded that some novel food processing techniques such as ultrasound, cold-plasma treatment, showed potential application in the reduction of soybean allergenicity. Further, some suggestions regarding the management and treatment of food allergies were addressed in this review.

Keywords:

• Soybean allergy
• skin prick test
• food processing techniques
• protein structure
• immunotherapy

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

We thank the financial support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [32102093], Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province [BK20210226], the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and the Department of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University.