BACKGROUND Peanuts are one of the main food allergens, occasionally responsible for life-threatening reactions. Thus, many studies have tried to fi nd a connection between peanut allergy prevalence and processes in the peanut chain that may contribute to the peanut allergenicity. To inform this discussion, this paper outlines experiences in peanut cultivation, trade and processing in Europe, fo...

BACKGROUND The impact of maternal ingestion of peanut during pregnancy and lactation on an offspring's risk for peanut allergy is under debate. OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of maternal dietary peanut exposure and breast milk on an offspring's allergy risk. METHODS Preconceptionally peanut-exposed C3H/HeJ females were either fed or not fed peanut during pregnancy and lactation. The...

Peanut testae (skins, seed coats) are an extremely low value by-product of peanut-blanching operations. Their commercial value is $12–20 per ton and their limited use is only as a minor component of cattle feed. Based on world in-shell peanut production of 29.1 million tons in 1999/2000 and an average skin content of 2.6%, world production of peanut skins can be estimated at over 750 000 tons a...

Peanuts (Arachis hypogea L.) are important substrates for the growth and subsequent aflatoxin production by different members of Aspergillus. The aims of the current study were to identify the toxigenic fungi associated with peanut and to study the effect of ozone gaseous (O3) on fungal spoilage and aflatoxin concentration in peanuts. Peanut samples were collected from three Egyptian governorat...

Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus infect peanut seeds and produce aflatoxins, which are associated with various diseases in domestic animals and humans throughout the world. The most cost-effective strategy to minimize aflatoxin contamination involves the development of peanut cultivars that are resistant to fungal infection and/or aflatoxin production. To identify peanut Aspergillus-intera...

Sensitization to foods often occurs in infancy, without a known prior oral exposure, suggesting that alternative exposure routes contribute to food allergy. Here, we tested the hypothesis that peanut proteins activate innate immune pathways in the skin that promote sensitization. We exposed mice to peanut protein extract on undamaged areas of skin and observed that repeated topical exposure to ...

Comparing lymphocyte responses to allergenic and nonallergenic foods could reveal the differences between pathogenic and normal immune responses to foods. Defining the cytokine-producing phenotypes of peanut-specific lymphocytes from peanut-allergic children, children who outgrew peanut allergy, and children who have always tolerated peanuts may be useful for understanding the mechanisms of foo...

The relative value of 'Hale' castorbean (Ricinus communis) and 'Pensacola' bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) as rotational crops for the management of Meloidogyne arenaria and southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii) in 'Florunner' peanut (Arachis hypogaea) production was studied for 3 years in a field experiment in southeast Alabama. Peanut following 2 years of castorbean (C-C-P) yielded 43% higher th...

One of the major allergenic food or food constituent is peanut, in which a number of allergenic proteins have been described (Ara h1-9). Until now, the relative contribution of the individual peanut allergens to clinical food allergic responses is not known. Therefore, the present studies aimed to elucidate the relative contribution of Ara h1, 2, 3, and 6 to peanut allergy in a mouse model. For...

Peanut allergy is a significant health problem because of the frequency, the potential severity, and the chronicity of the allergic sensitivity. Serum IgE from patients with documented peanut hypersensitivity reactions and a peanut cDNA expression library were used to identify clones that encode peanut allergens. One of the major peanut allergens, Ara h I, was selected from these clones using A...