Jack Fruit Allergy Test

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Description

Jack Fruit Allergy Test

Code: f318
Latin name: Artocarpus integrifolia
Source material: Fresh fruit
Family: Moraceae
Common names: Jack fruit, Jackfruit, Jak-fruit, Jak, Jaca, Nangka
Synonyms: Artocarpus heterophyllus

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

Jack Fruit Allergy Test: Allergen Exposure

Jack fruit is a tropical fruit grown throughout South East Asia, thriving at low elevations. It is also cultivated in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Australia, Mauritius, the Pacific Islands, Brazil and Surinam.

The spiny, oval or oblong shaped fruit is a close relative of the breadfruit, but much larger in size, weighing up to 50kg for a single fruit.

Until recently Jack fruit has been little used in the West, and where it has, is usually available only in canned form, because of the copious latex and the foul odour of the raw fruit.

The fruit is eaten raw, boiled or fried; and its seeds are roasted like chestnuts. It is a popular ingredient in ice cream, chutney, jam, liqueur, pulp, custard, jelly, nectar, concentrate, paste, or served as fried potato-like chips.

The roasted, dried seeds can be ground to make flour, which is blended with wheat flour for baking. It may also be pickled, canned or frozen for preservation and transport.

In India, the leaves are commonly used as food wrappers in cooking, and they are also fastened together for use as plates. The inedible portions of the fruit yield jelly, pectin and a syrup used for tobacco curing. In some areas, the fruit and the leaves are also fed to cattle.

In Chinese folk medicine, practiotioners consider Jack fruit pulp and seeds to be tonic and cooling, and recommend them as a hangover cure. The seeds and leaves may be used as a herbal remedy. The dried latex yields artostenone, convertible to artosterone, a compound with marked androgenic action.

Mixed with vinegar, the latex is said to promote healing of abscesses, snakebite and glandular swellings. The root and wood may also be used as a herbal remedy. The pith is said to induce abortion.

Jack Fruit Allergy Test: Allergen Description

No allergens from jack fruit have yet been characterised.

Both species of Artocarpus (breadfruit and jack fruit) contain lectins, which are very similar to each other.

Jack Fruit Allergy Test: Potential Cross-Reactivity

Cross-reactivity among the different individual species of the genus could be expected.

To assess whether jack fruit allergy might be common in patients with birch pollen and fruit allergy, 5 birch-pollen and concomitant fruit-allergy patients were orally challenged with jack fruit. All 5 developed symptoms of oral allergy.

The study concluded that jack fruit contains at least 1 panallergen which may result in birch pollen-related food allergy.

Jack Fruit Allergy Test: Clinical Experience

There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that jack fruit can occasionally induce symptoms of food allergy in sensitised individuals; however, few studies have been reported to date.

Ingestion of jack fruit resulting in anaphylaxis has been reported in 3 individuals.

Other reactions

Adverse reactions to lectins present in the fruit are possible, including the agglutination of red blood cells in humans and animals.