Peanuts in pregnancy

Monday, 23 May 2011 13:03

More research has been conducted into the impact of peanut consumption during pregnancy on the peanut-allergy status of offspring.

The latest work was conducted on mice, and the researchers reported that offspring from peanut fed mothers had lower peanut-specific immunoglobulin-E (IgE) levels, and showed reduced peanut-stimulated immune responses than offspring from non-peanut fed mothers.

The authors also tested whether the protective effects of peanut consumption were affected by co-administration of the mucosal adjuvant cholera toxin. The protective effects were found to be enhanced when this toxin was co-administered.

Reference: López-Expósito et al. 2011. Food Research International. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2011.04.047