A Review of Allergen Characteristics from Major Plant Allergenic Foods

With the increasing consumption of plant-based foods, allergies to these foods are becoming more widespread and seriously affect human health. This review focuses on the properties of major plant-based food allergens, including those from soybeans, peanuts, wheat, sesame, and tree nuts. The composition, stability, structure, and IgE-binding epitopes of allergens from these major plant allergenic foods are summarized. For peanuts, the major allergens include Ara h 1, Ara h 2, Ara h 3, and Ara h 6, with Ara h 2 and Ara h 6 being notably heat- and protease-resistant. Gly m 4, Gly m 5, and Gly m 6 are the predominant allergens in soybeans. The primary sesame allergens are Ses i 1, Ses i 2, Ses i 3, Ses i 6, and Ses i 7, with Ses i 1 serving as a stable and highly specific diagnostic marker. Wheat allergens are categorized by exposure route, with ingestion of allergens such as gliadins and glutenins being particularly relevant for food-induced reactions. Major storage proteins and lipid transfer proteins are central to the allergenicity of nut varieties (such as almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts). Understanding these molecular characteristics is crucial for developing hypoallergenic food products using targeted processing methods. Further studies are needed to comprehensively investigate these allergenic characteristics.