Fenugreek proteins that may trigger allergic reactions in peanut-allergic people
What it found
Several fenugreek proteins closely resemble major peanut allergens and were strongly recognised by allergy antibodies from 13 patients.
The work used blood samples from people and lab tests on the proteins.
What they found
Studies in people
Patient allergy levels
Twelve of the 13 patients had measured allergy antibody levels ranging from 0.4 to 36.4 kU/L. The thirteenth was a young child who had suffered a severe allergic reaction after eating food containing curry.
Animal and lab studies
Similarity to peanut allergens
Lab analysis showed two main fenugreek proteins share large stretches of identical building blocks with major peanut allergens. One matched 55% of the amino acids checked in peanut Ara h 1, and another matched 54% of those in peanut Ara h 3.
Four allergen families found
The researchers placed several fenugreek proteins into four known plant allergen families. Two were confirmed by detailed sequencing, while two others were suggested by database searches but still need further checking.
Studies in people and animals
Strongest binding protein
A group of five fenugreek proteins between 50.1 kDa and 66.1 kDa showed strong binding to allergy antibodies. The 50.1 kDa protein gave the strongest signal across all 13 patient blood samples.
What the authors conclude
- They identified individual fenugreek proteins that bind to allergy antibodies for the first time.
- Their results show these proteins closely match major peanut allergens at the molecular level.
- They say this similarity explains why people allergic to peanuts often react to fenugreek as well.
How it was done
Allergic reactions to fenugreek have been reported, often in people who are already allergic to peanuts. The authors wanted to identify which fenugreek proteins cause this cross-reaction.
They tested blood serum from 13 patients with known allergies to both peanut and fenugreek against fenugreek seed proteins. They then used mass spectrometry lab techniques to identify and sequence the specific proteins that bound to the patients' allergy antibodies.
What it can’t tell you
- This work identifies proteins that bind to allergy antibodies in lab tests, but it does not measure what happens when someone eats fenugreek.
- The study cannot show how common fenugreek allergy is among all people who eat it.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NIDDK NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- National Veterinary Institute, Norway
The paper
- Title
- Characterization of potential allergens in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) using patient sera and MS-based proteomic analysis
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Faeste CK, Christians U, Egaas E, Jonscher KR (2010). Characterization of potential allergens in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) using patient sera and MS-based proteomic analysis. Journal of proteomics. doi:10.1016/j.jprot.2010.02.011Free full textPubMed 20219717DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error