Mustard allergen

Many allergenic 2S albumins originate from the Brassicaceae family, i.e., oriental mustard seed Bra j 1, rapeseed Bra n 1, turnip Bra r 1, and yellow mustard seed Sin a 1. Furthermore, Brazil nut Ber e 1, black walnut Jug n 1, Jug r 1, and Jug r 4 from English walnut, Ses i 1 and Ses i 2 from sesame, Ric c 1 from castor bean, Ana o 3 from cashew nut, and Pis v 1 from pistachio have been included into the IUIS official allergen fist. 

Mustard is consumed in various forms throughout the world. It can be used as a condiment with meats and a variety of Asian dishes. It can be used to prepare pastes or as an ingredient for a large variety of sauces, soups, salad dressings, and marinades. It has also been used as an ingredient in some traditional remedies. It is frequently encountered in foods as a hidden allergen. 

S albumins are a major group of storage proteins that include several tree nut and seed allergens. Two structurally similar major mustard seed allergens have been identihed as belonging to the 2S albumin group [4]. Sin al is described as a 14 kDa protein isolated from Sinapsis alba. Bra j 1 is described as a 16 kDa protein from Brassica juncea [2]. 

In 2005, Palomares et al. described another allergen from S. alba, named Sin a 2 [9]. The protein is a 51 -kDa two-chain 11S globulin storage protein, shown to belong to the cupin superfamily of plant food allergens. It was demonstrated to bind IgE in mustard-sensitive patients. 

On November 10, 2003, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament was amended and mustard and products thereof were included in Annex Ilia [1]. Mustard was considered a significant food allergen in the European Union and was therefore added to the list of ingredients that must be declared on food labels. Commission Directive 2007/68/EC of November 27, 2007 has continued to include mustard in Annex Ilia [3]. 

R-Biopharm AG has released a qualitative, real-time PCR mustard detection kit, the SureFood Allergen Mustard Kit [10]. The kit targets and amplifies a DNA fragment present in S. alba. The sensitivity of the system is reported to be approximately 10 mg of mustard per kilogram of sample. No cross-reactivity to other plant species has been reported. 

In January 2008, Shim and Wanasundara announced their development of a sandwich ELISA that targets the Sin a 1 allergen from S. alba [11]. The assay was developed to quantify Sin a 1 levels in various yellow mustard seed lines, but was reported to be less sensitive than the previously described B.juncea assay developed by Koppleman et al. [6]. 

EC (2004). Chapter XVIII, Allergy to mustard. In Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies on a request from the Commission relating to the evaluation of allergenic foods for labelling purposes (Request EFSA-Q-2003-016). EFSA J 32 120-128. 

Malmheden-Yman I, Almgren J, Kruse B, Perm M (2008). Mustard detection in food samples. National Food Administration, Uppsala, Sweden. Poster presented at the Fifth Workshop on Food Allergen Methodologies, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, May 2008. 

Palomares O, Cuesta-Herranz J, Vereda A, Sirvent S, Villalba M, Rodriguez R (2005). Isolation and identification of an IIS globulin as a new major allergen in mustard seeds. Ann. Allergy Asthma Immunol, 94(5) 586-592. 

Shim Y, Wanasundara JPD (2008). Quantitative detection of allergenic protein Sinai from yellow mustard (Sinapis alba L.) seeds using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. J. Agric. Food Chemi, 56 1184—1192. 

Menendez-Arias, L., Moneo, L, Dominguez, J., and Rodriguez, R., Epitope mapping of the major allergen from yellow mustard seeds. Sin a I, Mol. Immunol., 27, 143-150, 1990. 

Both patch and prick tests can be performed with native spices as such. Patch tests can also be done with ethereal oils of spices. In addition, some pure allergens of spice oils are available from patch-test allergen suppliers (Table 1). The selection of spices used in tests is dependent on the worker s exposure history. In most cases, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, allspice, vanilla, ginger and nutmeg should be tested with patch tests, and mustard, coriander, caraway, celery seed and parsley with prick tests. Paprika and garlic should be tested with both patch and prick tests. 

In patch tests, dry powdered spices are put in Finn chambers on a moistened filter paper. The tests are read and interpreted according to the recommendations of the International Contact Dermatitis Research Group. Garlic, mustard, paprika and cayenne are too irritative to be tested as such (Table 1). Patch tests with other native spices may also elicit irritant reactions (Meding 1993 Niinimaki 1987), and dilution tests may be needed. Patch tests with ethereal oils and pure allergens of spices may also be used (Table 1). 

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