Cherry Allergy Test

£40.00

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Description

Cherry Allergy Test

Code: f242
Latin name: Prunus avium
Source material: Frozen berry
Family: Rosaceae
Common names: Cherry, Sweet cherry, Wild cherry

Cherry is a food which may result in allergy symptoms in sensitised individuals.

Cherry Allergy Test: Allergen Exposure

The wild or sweet cherry is a species of cherry which is native to Europe, North-west Africa, and western Asia. It is more closely related to plums than to apricots or peaches.

Globally, the majority of cherry cultivation is based in Europe, but it is grown wherever the climate allows, and in temperate regions natural wild populations also exist. The cherry tree is a deciduous tree of between 4 and 10 metres in height with a substantial trunk. The cherry tree flowers in spring, producing pure white blossom.

The cherry fruit is a small (1-2 cm diameter) drupe which varies in colour from bright red to dark purple when mature. Cherries are edible in their raw state, and can vary between sweet to slightly astringent or bitter depending on ripeness. The fruit contains a hard shelled stone or pit with a single groove along the flatter edge.

Cherry Allergy Test: Allergen Description

A number of allergens present in cherry have been characterised, including a lipid transfer protein, a thaumatin like protein and profilin.

Cherry Pru av 2, a thaumatin-like protein, is the most abundant soluble protein in ripe cherry; accumulation of this protein begins at the onset of ripening as the fruit turns from yellow to red.

LTP is found mainly in the peel, and chemical peeling has been shown to remove it successfully.

Cherry Allergy Test: Potential Cross-Reactivity

Extensive cross-reactivity among the different individual species of the Rosaceae family could be expected.

Lipid transfer protein may also be responsible for oral allergy syndrome in patients without pollen allergy, though adverse reactions are typically more severe.

In an earlier study of 87 patients, in 61% of patients with birch allergy, apple (97%) was the most prevalent allergen resulting in OAS, followed by peach (67%), cherry (58%), pear (40%), plum (40%) and melon (33%).

In a European study, hazelnut (53%) was shown to be the most common food allergen associated with OAS in 380 birch pollen-allergic patients. Approximately 33% of these patients were also hypersensitive to almond and cherry, as reported on questionnaires.

Cherry Allergy Test: Clinical Experience

Cherry may commonly induce symptoms of food allergy in sensitised individuals. Adverse reactions may range from mild oral allergy syndrome to nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, cough, dysphagia, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, angioedema, urticaria, laryngeal oedema, and severe anaphylaxis following ingestion of cherry.

Symptoms of cherry allergy have been shown to be dependent on geographic location and predominant sensitization. A study incorporating subjects from central Europe and Spain showed marked differences between the two groups. For example, oral allergy syndrome was much more prevalent in the central European cohort, whereas episodes of anaphylactic reactions upon consumption of cherry were reported by 3 of the Spanish but none of the central European subjects.

Anaphylaxis (vomiting, dyspnoea, itching, and generalised oedema) following ingestion of cherry has also been described. In addition respiratory allergy to pollen from cherry tree has been reported. Allergy to Rosaceae fruits in patients without a related pollen allergy is also a severe clinical entity.