Almond allergens: known and likely proteins identified
What it found
Almonds contain five officially recognised food allergens and five more proteins that may also be allergens.
The paper updates what is known about these proteins and calls for more work to confirm the likely ones.
What they found
Confirmed almond allergens
Five almond proteins are currently designated as allergens by the World Health Organization and the International Union of Immunological Societies. These are Pru du 3, Pru du 4, Pru du 5, Pru du 6 and Pru du 8.
Other identified allergens
Almond vicilin and almond gamma-conglutin have also been identified as food allergens, though the authors say more characterisation is still needed.
Misidentified allergen
Almond 2S albumin was reported as a food allergen because of a misidentification of Pru du 8.
Likely allergens
Two more almond proteins, called Pru du 1 and Pru du 2, have been labelled as allergens based on their similarity to known allergens in other species and their membership in protein families that contain allergens. The authors say these need further investigation.
What the authors conclude
“Almonds thus have five known food allergens and five more likely ones that need to be investigated further.”
Also in their conclusions
- They state that almonds have five known food allergens and five more likely ones that need to be investigated further.
- They provide an update to clarify confusion about the identities of almond allergens and offer their perspective on characterising likely almond allergens.
How it was done
Almond allergens have not been studied as much as those of peanuts and some other tree nuts. The authors wanted to clear up confusion about which almond proteins are actually allergens.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review of protein identities, not a study in people. It cannot show how often almond allergy occurs or how severe reactions might be.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, USA; University of Science and Technology of China, China
The paper
- Title
- Almond allergens: update and perspective on identification and characterization
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Zhang Y, Jin T (2020). Almond allergens: update and perspective on identification and characterization. Journal of the science of food and agriculture. doi:10.1002/jsfa.10417PubMed 32270879DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error