Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 21, 2025

Application of Biochip Microfluidic Technology to Detect Serum Allergen-specific Immunoglobulin E sIgE
Published on: April 21, 2019
Food allergy as a biological food quality control system
Esther B Florsheim1, Zuri A Sullivan1, William Khoury-Hanold1
1Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
None:
Food is simultaneously a source of essential nutrients and a potential source of lethal toxins and pathogens. Consequently, multiple sensory mechanisms evolved to monitor the quality of food based on the presence and relative abundance of beneficial and harmful food substances. These include the olfactory, gustatory, and gut chemosensory systems. Here we argue that, in addition to these systems, allergic immunity plays a role in food quality control by mounting allergic defenses against food antigens associated with noxious substances. Exaggeration of these defenses can result in pathological food allergy.
Related Concept Videos
Allergic Reactions
Antibody Structure
Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins (Ig), are essential players of the adaptive immune system. These antigen-binding proteins are produced by B cells and make up 20 percent of the total blood plasma by weight. In mammals, antibodies fall into five different classes, which each elicits a different biological response upon antigen binding.
The Y-Shaped Structure of Antibodies Consists of Four Polypeptide Chains
Antibodies consist of four polypeptide chains: two identical heavy...
Cross-reactivity
Biological Methods for Microbial Control
Allergic Drug Reactions
Conditioned Taste Aversion
A notable characteristic of conditioned taste aversion is that it often requires only a single...

