Effect of heating and glycation on the allergenicity of Ara h 2/6

Results Heating Ara h 2/6 at 110°C resulted in extensive denaturation whilst Ara h 2/6 extracted from roasted peanut retained its native conformation. Allergen stimulation of PBMC from peanut allergic patients induced proliferation of mainly CD4+ T-cells and induction of Th2 cytokine secretion which was unaffected by thermal processing. IgE reactivity and functionality of Ara h 2/6 was decreased by heating. Whilst heating-glycation further reduced the IgE binding capacity of the proteins, it moderated their loss of histamine releasing capacity. Ara h 2/6 purified from roasted peanut demonstrated the same IgE reactivity as unheated, native Ara h 2/6.