Sesame allergy: mechanisms, prevalence, allergens, residue detection, effects of processing and cross-reactivity

Abstract

Sesame allergy is a serious public health problem and is mainly induced by IgE-mediated reactions, whose prevalence is distributed all over the world. Sesame has been included on the priority allergic food list in many countries. This review summarizes the mechanism and prevalence of sesame allergy. The characteristics, structures and epitopes of sesame allergens (Ses i 1 to Ses i 7) are included. Moreover, the detection methods for sesame allergens are evaluated, including nucleic-acid, immunoassays, mass spectrometry, and biosensors. Various processing techniques for reducing sesame allergenicity are discussed. Additionally, the potential cross-reactivity of sesame with other plant foods is assessed. It is found that the allergenicity of sesame is related to the structures and epitopes of sesame allergens. Immunoassays and mass spectrometry are the major analytical tools for detecting and quantifying sesame allergens in food. Limited technologies have been successfully used to reduce the antigenicity of sesame, involving microwave heating, high hydrostatic pressure, salt and pH treatment. More technologies for reducing the allergenicity of sesame should be widely investigated in future studies. The reduction of allergenicity in processed sesames should be ultimately confirmed by clinical studies. What’s more, sesame may exhibit cross-reactivity with peanut and tree nuts.

Keywords:

• Sesame allergy
• sesame allergen
• mechanisms
• prevalence
• processing for reducing allergenicity

Acknowledgments

Thanks for Funding for the Opening Project of Key Laboratory of Soybean Biology of Chinese Education Ministry (SBKF04). Thank Professor Fergus Clydesdale for suggestions about our manuscript. This article commemorates the Five years of life with my wife Minghui Li.

Author contributions

Xiaowen Pi designed the manuscript, performed preliminary data analysis, and wrote the initial review. Ph.D Zeyu Peng, Jiarong Wang and Yuanqing Jiang helped “Xiaowen Pi” to modify manuscripts. Professor Guiming Fu and Yili Yang suggested some amendments to the initial review. Professor YuXue Sun supervised the project and edited the final version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.