Allergenicity attributes of different peanut market types

- Common peanut market types have highly comparable protein content and protein profile.
- Their content of allergens Ara h1, Ara h2, Ara h3, and Ara h6 was comparable too.
- All peanut samples were recognized by commercial peanut ELISAs.
- IgE-binding potency differed maximally 2-fold between the least and most potent one.
- This enables quantitative risk assessment, regardless the background of the peanut.

Four different market classes of peanut (Runner, Virginia Spanish, and Valencia) are commonly consumed in Western countries, but for some consumers peanuts are a main cause of food-induced anaphylaxis. Limited information is available on the comparative allergenicity of these distinct market classes. The aim of this study was to compare allergenicity attributes of different peanut cultivars.The protein content and protein profiles were highly comparable for all tested cultivars. All cultivar samples contained the major allergens Ara h 1, Ara h 2, Ara h 3 and Ara h 6, as assessed by SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC, although some minor differences in major allergen content were found between samples. All samples were reactive in commercial ELISAs for detection and quantification of peanut protein. IgE-binding potency differed between samples with a maximum factor of 2, indicating a highly comparable allergenicity.Based on our observations, we conclude that peanuts from the main market types consumed in Western countries are highly comparable in their allergenicity attributes, indicating that safety considerations with regard to peanut allergy are not dependent on the peanut cultivar in question.