Papain Induced Occupational Asthma with Kiwi and Fig Allergy
Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research
;
: 170-173, 2016.
Article
in English
| WPRIM
| ID: wpr-77204
ABSTRACT
Papain is a proteolytic enzyme which is widely used in food industry, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Occupational and non-occupational papain allergies have previously been documented; however, there are limited publications about papain allergy with its relative fruit allergy. Here, we present a case of occupational, IgE-mediated papain allergy with kiwi fruit and fig fruit allergy. A 53-year-old man suffered from rhinitis for several years, with the onset of his symptoms coinciding with the time he started to work at a sausage processing plant where papain is often used as a meat tenderizer. He began to experience symptoms of chest tightness, shortness of breath and wheezing shortly after starting work 5 years ago. Furthermore, he experienced several episodes of oral itching, and tongue and oropharyngeal angioedema after injestion of kiwi fruit and fig fruit. The patient had a lifelong history of allergic conjunctivitis, allergic rhinitis, and childhood asthma. Specific IgE was positive to kiwi fruit, papain and chymopapain (2.95 kUA/L, >100 kUA/L, and 95.0 kUA/L, respectively). Similar bands at 10-15 kDa in blotting with papain and kiwi fruit extracts were found. This patient showed a potential association between papain allergy and sensitization to kiwi fruit. We also reviewed 13 patients with papain allergy published in the literature, with 85% (11/13) of the patients sensitized through the respiratory tract, and 40% (4/11) having atopy. Further studies should focus on the determination of cross-reactive allergens between papain and its fruit relatives, and the prevalence of food allergy in patients with papain allergy should be investigated in a relatively large cohort.
Full text:
Available
Index:
WPRIM (Western Pacific)
Main subject:
Plants
/
Pruritus
/
Respiratory System
/
Asthma
/
Thorax
/
Tongue
/
Conjunctivitis, Allergic
/
Immunoglobulin E
/
Allergens
/
Chymopapain
Type of study:
Etiology study
/
Incidence study
/
Observational study
/
Prevalence study
/
Risk factors
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Research
Year:
2016
Type:
Article
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS