BANANA Like all food allergies, banana allergy ... - Prism Web Pages

BANANA
Like all food allergies, banana allergy is also caused due to a protein known as chitinase. Chitinase often causes
the immune system of the body to react in an unfavorable manner. This is a type 1 allergy caused by contact
with bananas. People who have a banana allergy may also be allergic to kiwi fruit and avocado because the
protein chitinase is also present in these other fruits.
Today, bananas are a very popular fruit all over the world. Since it is not a seasonal fruit, bananas are available
all through the year. Banana allergy is not a very common disorder. A lot of people who claim to be allergic to
bananas in fact only have intolerance towards the fruit. There are certain amines in bananas which cannot be
digested by those who have a weak and sensitive digestive system. The enzyme called diamine oxidase, which
is used to digest these amines may be absent in certain individuals. Such people are not able to breakdown the
proteins in bananas and therefore have allergy type reactions which are often mistaken for the actual banana
allergy.
Banana Allergy Symptoms
Intolerance to the vaso-active amines can cause severe reactions which seem a lot like allergic reactions.
Histamine, serotonin and dopamine are some of the vaso-active amines that may produce symptoms of allergic
reactions. Some of these symptoms are:
Cramping in the abdomen,
Increased heart palpitations,
Headaches and migraines,
Vomiting,
Diarrhea,
Nausea
Watery eyes
Coughing, sneezing and wheezing
Runny nose

Though these symptoms are usually mild, in certain cases, the amount of bananas ingested can increase the
severity of the attack.
Banana Allergy Treatment:
Like most allergic treatments, the treatment for banana allergy also involves the use of anti histamines.
However, it is best if you avoid contact with the allergen altogether. Though the symptoms of such an allergy
are not very severe, in a rare case someone may experience an anaphylactic shock. In such a case, adrenalin
injections are administered.
Species Allergen Biochemical name
MW(SDS-
PAGE)
Food
Allergen
Entry Date
Modified Date
Musa acuminata (Banana)
Mus a 1 Profilin 15 kDa Yes
2010-04-29
16:57:55
0000-00-00
00:00:00
Mus a 2 Class 1 chitinase 33 kDa Yes
2010-04-29
16:57:55
0000-00-00
00:00:00
Mus a 3
Non-specific lipid transfer
protein
9 kDa Yes
2010-04-29
16:57:55
0000-00-00
00:00:00
Mus a 4 Thaumatin-like protein 20 kDa Yes
2010-04-29
16:57:55
0000-00-00
00:00:00
Mus a 5 Beta-1,3-glucanase 30 kDa Yes
2010-04-29
16:57:55
0000-00-00
00:00:00

Mus a 1:
Allergen name: Mus a 1
Lineage:
Source: Plantae Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Species: Musa acuminata (Banana)
Obsolete name: Mus xp 1
Biochemical name:
Profilin
MW(SDS-PAGE):
15 kDa
Allergenicity:
7 out of 16 sera (44%) from patients with suspected banana-allergy showed IgE
binding to purified rMus xp 1 on immunoblot.
Allergenicity ref.: 12065910
Food allergen:
Yes
+/-
Isoallergen and
variants
GenBank Nucleotide UniProt PDB
Mus a 1.0101 AF377948 Q94JN3

Mus a2:
Allergen name: Mus a 2
Lineage:
Source: Plantae Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Species: Musa acuminata (Banana)
Biochemical name:
Class 1 chitinase
MW(SDS-PAGE):
33 kDa
Food allergen:
Yes
+/- Isoallergen and variants GenBank Nucleotide UniProt PDB
Mus a 2.0101 AJ277278 Q8VXF1
Mus a 3:
Allergen name: Mus a 3
Lineage:
Source: Plantae Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Species: Musa acuminata (Banana)
Biochemical name:
Non-specific lipid transfer protein
MW(SDS-PAGE):
9 kDa
Allergenicity:
20% of 36 banana allergic individuals had IgE that bound to the natural Mus a 3 in Western blot. 86% (31/36) of
individual sera showed specific IgE binding to the purified homologous peach allergen Pru p 3 in an ELISA.

Food allergen:
Yes
+/-
Isoallergen and
variants
GenBank Nucleotide UniProt PDB
Mus a 3.0101
P86333 (confidential until publication).
Mus a 4:
Allergen name: Mus a 4
Lineage:
Source: Plantae Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Species: Musa acuminata (Banana)
Biochemical name:
Thaumatin-like protein
MW(SDS-PAGE):
20 kDa
Allergenicity:
72% of 51 sera from pediatric patients with banana allergy showed IgE-binding to purified natural Mus a 4 in
ELISA.
Food allergen:
Yes
+/-
Isoallergen and
variants
GenBank Nucleotide UniProt PDB
Mus a 4.0101
1Z3Q

Mus a 5:
Allergen name: Mus a 5
Lineage:
Source: Plantae Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Species: Musa acuminata (Banana)
Biochemical name:
Beta-1,3-glucanase
MW(SDS-PAGE):
30 kDa
Allergenicity:
Purified natural Mus a 5 bound IgE of 84% of the sera from 51 pediatric patients with banana allergy.
Food allergen:
Yes