Hypersensitivity, including a hypersensitive response to foodstuffs, is one of the major health problems nowadays. Symptoms of food hypersensitivity cause acute discomfort for patients and are becoming an increasing social and economic problem, although much progress has been made in recent years in many areas related to food allergies. Many food allergens have been characterized at a molecular level, their spatial structure has been determined, and allergen fragments (epitopes) responsible for reactions with IgE antibodies have also been characterized. A deeper understanding of the mechanism of the immunopathogenesis of food allergies has been reached, and this may soon lead to novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Many informative books have been published on this subject. However, we need to constantly update ourselves to keep abreast of the latest developments in the many sciences related to food hypersensitivity. On the other hand, the advances in research on food hypersensitivity open a wide range of potential new solutions and possibilities. International teams of scientists committed to research in fields such as medicine, molecular biology, food biotechnology, and foodstuff assays have achieved remarkable results.
This book should help in understanding the problems related to the occurrence of allergies, particularly food allergies. It contains up- to-date information on the mechanisms involved in hypersensitive responses and threats caused by ingesting foodstuffs and their components that are often associated with modern food-processing technologies. It provides in-depth knowledge on allergens and related disciplines. It also responds to the need for popular social education, which aims to instruct potential patients on methods of avoiding harmful allergens. This objective is aided by the presentation of the problems, which consists of a detailed characterization of the major groups of allergens, a description of their behavior during various technological and biotechnological processes, as well as an indication of potential reactions with other allergens.
Due to its educational value, this book may also be of interest to general consumers, allergic consumers, representatives of the agro-food industry (including primary producers, manufacturers, and retailers), and health professionals and regulators. It should also be a dependable reference for researchers (clinicians, food scientists, dieticians, and nutritionists) and students of molecular biology (particularly the up-to-date characterizations of mechanisms causing allergies and genetic modifications aimed at decreasing allergenic activity of food products), food technology (mainly health risks related to particular food components and the effect of technological processes on allergenic activity of food products as well as foodstuff assays), biotechnology (primarily allergenic threats caused by microorganisms and microbial metabolites), and food safety, as well as medical studies connected with diagnostic methods (elimination diets and food challenges) and allergy therapies.
This book draws its material from existing databases on allergens and from Web pages devoted to this issue. Hence, it encourages the readers to expand their knowledge on their own—it can be especially beneficial for college students. It should be present on the shelves of libraries at all universities, especially universities and scientific institutes that specialize in biological research.
- Lucjan Jedrychowski -
Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Editors
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Molecular, Cellular, and Physiological Mechanisms of Immunological Hyporesponsiveness/Sensitization to Food by Elz?bieta Kucharska, Joanna Bober, and Tadeusz Ogonski
- Chapter 2 Immunomodulating Properties of Food Components by Lucjan Je?drychowski, Anna Halász, Edina Németh,
- and András Nagy
- Chapter 3 Methods for Detection of Food Allergens by Lucjan Je?drychowski, André H. Penninks, Maciej Kaczmarski, Beata Cudowska, Elz.bieta Korotkiewicz-Kaczmarska, Andrea Harrer, Anja Maria Erler, Gabriele Gadermaier, Michael Faltlhansl, Fátima Ferreira, and Martin Himly
- Chapter 4 Recombinant Food Allergens and Their Role in Immunoassay and Immunotherapy by Karin Hoffmann-Sommergruber, Christina Oberhuber, and Merima Bublin
- Chapter 5 General Characteristics of Food Allergens by Lucjan Jedrychowski
- Chapter 6 Milk Allergens by Barbara Wróblewska and Lucjan Jedrychowski
- Chapter 7 Egg Allergens by Sabine Baumgartner and Patricia Schubert-Ullrich
- Chapter 8 Fish Allergens by Patrick Weber and Angelika Paschke
- Chapter 9 Seafood Allergen Overview: Focus on Crustacea by Andreas Lopata and Samuel Lehrer
- Chapter 10 Nut Allergens by Agata Szymkiewicz
- Chapter 11 Peanut (Arachis hypogea) Allergens by Agata Szymkiewicz
- Chapter 12 Soy (Glycine max) Allergens by Sabine Baumgartner and Patricia Schubert-Ullrich
- Chapter 13 Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Allergens by Joanna Leszczynska
- Chapter 14 Brief Characteristics of Other Important Food Allergens by Lucjan Jedrychowski, Matthias Egger, Michael Hauser, Georg Schmidt, Nicole Wopfner, Fátima Ferreira, Michael Wallner, and Andreas Lopata
- Chapter 15 Risk Analysis of Food Allergens by Marielle Spanjersberg, Niels Lucas Luijckx, and Geert Houben
- Glossary
- Appendix
- Index
About the Editors
- Lucjan Jedrychowski is a researcher in biotechnology, food sciences, and food allergies, and is the head of the Department of Food Enzymes and Allergens at The Polish Academy of Sciences' Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research in Olsztyn. His research interests include the investigation and determination of radionuclide contamination of food, exploring possibilities for the decontamination and application of radionuclides S-35 and P-32 by incorporation into chlorella for inducing mutations, the evaluation of properties of enzymes and applications of enzyme preparation in the food industry and in food analysis, food allergens, the application of immunological methods (ELISA, ELISPOT) for investigating biologically active compounds in food (mainly allergens), and the investigation of biologically active compounds in food for both their positive and negative effects in an organism. He is a coauthor of 365 publications, 5 books, and 2 patents.
- Harry J. Wichers is a biochemist by training. He received his PhD on the topic "Biotechnological production of pharmaceuticals with plant cell cultures" from the University of Groningen. After working for five years at the TNO-Zeist, Department of Biotechnology, he joined the Wageningen University and Research Centre in the early 1990s, where he worked on the biochemical characterization of food quality parameters. Wichers has been program leader of research on the relationship between food and health. In this research, data on the physiological effects of food constituents are integrated with data of their characteristics in the raw materials and their behavior during processing in order to develop foods that are attractive to the senses and have a positive impact on human health. Wichers is one of the founders of the Allergy Consortium Wageningen; in this expertise center, research teams from each science group of Wageningen-UR cooperate to develop strategies for allergy management. He has held a chair entitled 'immune modulation by food' since April 2005. Through this chair, the interactions between food (constituents) and the (human or animal) immune system are studied in order to contribute to the development of foods, feed, or ingredients that can aid in balancing, fortifying, or sustaining an appropriate immune response. In this research, structure–activity relationships of immune-modulating natural compounds are studied. The immunological readout systems include receptor-binding studies, and gene expression through expression array–based analyses.
Product Details
- Hardcover: 447 pages
- Publisher: CRC Press; 1 edition (September 28, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 142005855X
- ISBN-13: 978-1420058550
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
List Price: $164.95