Peanuts, Aflatoxins and Undernutrition in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) is an important and affordable source of protein in most of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and a popular commodity and raw material for peanut butter, paste and cooking oil. It is a popular ingredient for foods used at the point of weaning infants from mother's milk. It is at this critical point that childhood undernutrition occurs […]

Evaluation of peanut skin and grape seed extracts to inhibit growth of foodborne pathogens.

Peanut skin extract (PSE) and grape seed extract (GSE) are derived from waste products in the wine and peanut industries, respectively. Both have high concentrations of polyphenols, known to possess antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. PSE primarily contains "A-type" procyanidins, while GSE primarily contains "B-type" procyanidins. These differ structurally, but are both isomers of epicatechin dimers. The objective of […]

Suppression of aflatoxin production in Aspergillus species by selected peanut (Arachis hypogaea) stilbenoids.

Aspergillus flavus is a soil fungus that commonly invades peanut seeds and often produces the carcinogenic aflatoxins. Under favorable conditions, the fungus-challenged peanut plant produces and accumulates resveratrol and its prenylated derivatives in response to such invasion. These prenylated stilbenoids are considered peanut antifungal phytoalexins. However, the mechanism of peanut-fungus interaction has not been sufficiently studied. We used pure peanut stilbenoids, arachidin-1, arachidin-3, and […]

The longitudinal impact of probiotic and peanut oral immunotherapy on health‐related quality of life.

BACKGROUND: We previously reported that probiotic and peanut oral immunotherapy (PPOIT) was effective at inducing sustained unresponsiveness compared with placebo in a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial. This study evaluated the impact of PPOIT on health-related quality of life (HRQL). METHOD: Fifty-one participants (PPOIT 24; placebo 27) from the PPOIT trial completed Food Allergy Quality of […]

Early Introduction of Allergenic Foods for the Prevention of Food Allergy from an Asian Perspective–An APAPARI Consensus Statement.

Emerging evidence for the early introduction of allergenic foods for the prevention of food allergies, such as peanut allergy in Western populations, has led to the recent publication of guidelines in the USA and Europe recommending early peanut introduction for high-risk infants with severe eczema or egg allergy. Peanut allergy is, however, much less prevalent […]

Effect of Varying Doses of Epicutaneous Immunotherapy vs Placebo on Reaction to Peanut Protein Exposure Among Patients With Peanut Sensitivity: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

IMPORTANCE: Epicutaneous immunotherapy may have potential for treating peanut allergy but has been assessed only in preclinical and early human trials. OBJECTIVE: To determine the optimal dose, adverse events (AEs), and efficacy of a peanut patch for peanut allergy treatment. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Phase 2b double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging trial of a peanut patch in […]

Prevention of Food Allergies.

This review summarizes the current state of play with regard to food allergy prevention. Food allergy prevention strategies focused on promoting timely introduction of allergenic foods (predominantly peanut) into the infant diet have recently been introduced in several countries. Additional prevention strategies currently under investigation include optimizing infant vitamin D levels, modulating the gut microbiota […]

Food Allergy: Update on Prevention and Tolerance.

Of the many possible hypotheses which explain the recent rise in childhood food allergy, the dual allergen exposure hypothesis has been the most extensively investigated. This chapter serves as a review and update on the prevention of food allergy, and focuses on recently published Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) exploring the efficacy of oral tolerance induction […]