Prevalence of legume sensitization in patients with naso-bronchial allergy.

Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol 30(3):529-42 (2008) PMID 18618316

Prevalence of legume allergy and concomitant sensitization to different allergens was evaluated in patients of asthma and/ or rhinitis. Skin prick test with 27 common food allergens and 61 aeroallergens in 76 subjects was performed. Out of 76 subjects, 41 perceived allergenic problems with different food items as contributing factor. Only six patients showed prick test positivity compatible with their anamnesis. However, 35 subjects showed sensitization to different food items, out of which thirty were sensitive to legumes. The common foods in decreasing order of allergenicity were chickpea, followed by green gram, egg white, and bean fresh/red gram. Concomitant sensitization to different legume crops was found in patients.