Cashew nut allergy and its allergenic proteins
What it found
Cashew nut is a potent allergenic food that can trigger severe immune reactions in allergic people, often needing epinephrine and hospital care.
Three major allergenic proteins have been identified in it.
What they found
Studies in people
Severe reactions
Cashew nut is a potent allergenic food known to trigger severe immune reactions, such as anaphylaxis, in sensitised or allergic people. These often need epinephrine treatment and hospitalisation.
Rising prevalence
The prevalence of cashew nut allergy seems to be rising in industrialised countries with the increasing consumption of this nut.
No cure
There is still no cure for cashew nut allergy, as for other food allergies. Allergic patients are advised to remove it from their diets.
Animal and lab studies
Allergenic proteins
Three groups of allergenic proteins have been found and characterised in cashew nut: Ana o 1 and Ana o 2, and Ana o 3. All are classed as major allergens.
Other findings
Labelling and testing
Allergic consumers choosing processed foods have to rely on proper food labelling. Control of labelling compliance is much needed, which has prompted the development of analytical methods for allergen analysis.
What the authors conclude
- They note that significant research advances in cashew nut allergy have been accomplished in recent years.
- They highlight and discuss these advances in this review.
How it was done
Cashew nut allergy seems to be rising in industrialised countries as people eat more of this nut. There is still no cure, so allergic patients must avoid it and rely on correct food labelling.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review of existing research, not a new study in people.
- It cannot show how many people have cashew nut allergy or how likely a reaction is.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (from the PubMed record).
The paper
- Title
- Cashew Nut Allergy: Clinical Relevance and Allergen Characterisation
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Mendes C, Costa J, Vicente AA, Oliveira MBPP, Mafra I (2019). Cashew Nut Allergy: Clinical Relevance and Allergen Characterisation. Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology. doi:10.1007/s12016-016-8580-5PubMed 27585580DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error