Chickpea allergy and cross-reactivity with pea, lentil, soybean and hazelnut
What it found
Lab tests on blood samples showed that chickpea proteins share allergy triggers with pea, lentil, soybean and hazelnut.
The authors suggest chickpea allergy may actually stem from pea or lentil sensitivity.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Cross-reactivity with legumes and nuts
Lab tests on blood sera showed that chickpea proteins share allergy-triggering targets with pea, lentil, soybean and hazelnut.
Asymmetric reaction pattern
Pea and lentil extracts fully blocked the antibody binding to chickpea proteins in lab tests. However, chickpea did not fully block the reverse reaction.
Soybean and hazelnut overlap
In lab tests, soaking blood sera with chickpea protein removed the antibody binding to soybean and hazelnut proteins on test blots.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that chickpea allergy likely does not occur on its own but is linked to lentil or pea allergy.
- The authors suggest that pea or lentil acts as the primary trigger, with chickpea reactions being a result of shared proteins.
How it was done
Chickpea is widely eaten in Mediterranean and Western diets, and allergies to it have been reported in certain regions. These allergies often appear alongside reactions to lentils or peas.
Scientists tested blood sera for IgE antibodies that bind to chickpea globulin proteins. They compared these binding patterns with extracts from pea, lentil, soybean and hazelnut using immunoblotting and inhibition assays.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These are lab tests on blood samples, so they cannot show what happens when someone eats these foods.
- This work cannot tell how common chickpea allergy is among shoppers or how severe reactions might be.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofia, Spain
The paper
- Title
- Food allergy and cross-reactivity-chickpea as a test case
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Bar-El Dadon S, Pascual CY, Reifen R (2014). Food allergy and cross-reactivity-chickpea as a test case. Food chemistry. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.05.138PubMed 25038702DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error