In patients having a history of anaphylaxis after consumption of peanuts, sunflower seeds, or soy and skin or blood tests negative for the allergen extracts, oleosins could be the culprit. Oleosins are common and largely underestimated allergy inducers of plant origin, causing severe allergy symptoms, including the anaphylactic shock. They are resistant to high temperatures and digestive enzymes. The consumption of heat-treated oleosins has been associated with a higher risk of a severe anaphylactic reaction. Recent studies have shown that oleosins could be a biomarker of the allergy severity to peanuts. Oleosins have a hydrophobic structure and thus, are poorly soluble in aqueous solutions. The aqueous extraction, separation, and purification procedures do not guarantee their solubility. Oleosins dissolve only in the presence of detergents, which limits their use in both in vivo and in vitro allergy tests. Recently, a multiparameter allergy test that detects the allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) against oleosins has become available. This capability may help to unravel the presence of oleosin source during the routine diagnostic of allergy, which is conducive to assessing the risk for severe anaphylaxis and may also help to clarify the ambiguous allergy cases.
Keywords: Allergy; Anaphylaxis; Biomaker; Diagnostic tests; Oleosin; sIgE.