Cooking may affect allergenicity of cabbage family

Monday, 30 March 2009 20:13

A study of allergic reactions to vegetables in the Brassica family has recently been published (online ahead of print) in the journal Allergy. Six patients with recurrent allergic reactions to raw cabbage (four of six with anaphylaxis) were subjected to skin prick tests with extracts of various raw vegetables.

While none of the study participants experienced allergic reactions after consuming cooked cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and regular amount of mustard, skin prick tests with raw cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower extracts were strongly positive in all patients. Skin prick tests using extracts of the same vegetables following cooking were reduced to the point of nearing the negative response level.

All patients also had positive skin prick tests to mustard, however they were able to consume mustard without any clinical reaction.

The authors therefore suggest heat treatment, or cooking these vegetables, may inactivate the allergens. As cabbage is frequently consumed raw, they believe this may be why several anaphylactic reactions are referred to it. Few allergic reactions to cauliflower and broccoli are reported, perhaps because these vegetables are usually consumed cooked and therefore the culprit allergen is inactivated.