Mung bean sprout protein Vig r 6 and birch pollen allergy
What it found
In lab tests, a protein from mung bean sprouts called Vig r 6 was recognised by IgE from some birch pollen allergic patients, including those who reacted to mung bean sprouts.
The authors say its low amount in sprouts and weak binding may limit its importance.
What they found
Studies in people
IgE binding in people
In blood serum tests, 32% of 60 birch pollen allergic patients and 63% of 19 mung bean sprout sensitised patients had IgE that bound to Vig r 6.
Animal and lab studies
Cross-reactivity with Bet v 1
In lab tests, the birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 completely stopped IgE from binding to Vig r 6 in some patients, showing the two proteins are cross-reactive.
Basophil activation
In lab tests, Vig r 6 activated basophils (immune cells) that were sensitised with serum from mung bean allergic patients, but only at higher concentrations than other allergens.
Low affinity of IgE
The authors found that IgE antibodies bound to Vig r 6 with 100 to 1000 times lower affinity than to Bet v 1, based on lab inhibition tests.
Other findings
Amount in sprouts
The paper states that Vig r 6 is present in very low amounts in mung bean sprouts, which may limit its ability to cause symptoms.
What the authors conclude
“Thus, IgE binding to Vig r 6 may contribute to birch pollinosis-associated mung bean sprout allergy.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that IgE binding to Vig r 6 may contribute to birch pollen associated mung bean sprout allergy.
- They note that the low affinity of Vig r 6-specific IgE and its low concentration in mung bean sprouts might limit its clinical significance.
How it was done
The authors wanted to find out whether a mung bean protein called Vig r 6 can trigger allergic reactions in people allergic to birch pollen, since another mung bean protein (Vig r 1) is already known to do so.
They tested blood serum from 60 birch pollen allergic patients and 19 patients who had positive skin tests to mung bean sprouts. They measured IgE binding to Vig r 6 and other allergens, and tested whether Vig r 6 could activate immune cells in the lab.
What it can’t tell you
- This study used blood serum and lab tests, so it cannot show whether Vig r 6 actually causes allergic symptoms in people.
- The number of patients tested was small, especially for the basophil activation test, so the results may not apply to everyone.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Austrian Science Fund FWF (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- Medical University of Vienna, Austria
The paper
- Title
- Vig r 6, the cytokinin-specific binding protein from mung bean (Vigna radiata) sprouts, cross-reacts with Bet v 1-related allergens and binds IgE from birch pollen allergic patients' sera
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Guhsl EE, Hofstetter G, Hemmer W, et al (2014). Vig r 6, the cytokinin-specific binding protein from mung bean (Vigna radiata) sprouts, cross-reacts with Bet v 1-related allergens and binds IgE from birch pollen allergic patients' sera. Molecular nutrition & food research. doi:10.1002/mnfr.201300153Free full textPubMed 23996905DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error