Original Paper Int Arch Allergy Immunol 2000;121:137–143 Specific IgE Levels to Cicer arietinum (Chick Pea) in Tolerant and Nontolerant Children: Evaluation of Boiled and Raw Extracts Mercedes Martı´nez San Ireneo a Maria Dolores Iba ´ñez Sandı´n a Enrique Ferna ´ ndez-Caldas b Francisco Maraño ´ n Lizana b Maria José Rosales Fletes a Maria Teresa Laso Borrego a a Allergy Department, Hospital Niño Jesu ´ s, and b C.B.F. Leti SA, Research and Development Laboratories, Madrid, Spain Received: June 17, 1999 Accepted after revision: November 24, 1999 Correspondence to: Dr. Maria Dolores Iba ´ ñez Sandı ´n Allergy Section, Hospital Niño Jesu ´s Avenida Menéndez y Pelayo, 65 E–28009 Madrid (Spain) Tel. +34 91 503 5935, Fax +34 91 574 4669 ABC Fax + 41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail karger@karger.ch www.karger.com © 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel 1018–2438/00/1212–0137$17.50/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/journals/iaa Key Words Food hypersensitivity W Legumes W Specific IgE W Chick pea W Allergens W Cicer arietinum Abstract The chick pea, Cicer arietinum, is a legume commonly consumed in Spain and other Mediterranean countries. The sera of 29 children (mean age: 8.4 years) with a cur- rent or past history of allergic reactions after ingestion of chick pea, and positive skin tests to this legume, were used to study the allergenic composition of raw and boiled chick pea extracts. The patient population was divided into 2 groups: group 1 consisted of 19 patients with clinical sensitivity confirmed by either positive oral challenges or a convincing recent history of anaphylaxis after eating chick peas, and group 2 consisted of 10 patients with clinical sensitivity in the past, but tolerant at the time of blood extraction. Six atopic children, not allergic to legumes, were included as controls. Specific IgE to the raw and boiled extracts was measured by ELISA. The allergenic composition of both extracts was analyzed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblots. There were no significant differences between specific IgE levels to the raw and boiled extracts (p = 0.23). The mean levels in group 1 were significantly higher than in group 2 and controls (p = 0.0001). Multiple IgE binding proteins/pep- tides were detected in both extracts in the molecular weight range of 10–106 kD. Only nontolerant patients recognized a similar number of bands in both extracts. Chick pea extracts contain a majority of heat-stable aller- gens, which could be responsible for the clinical sensitiv- ity to chick pea. Patients with a current clinical allergy to chick pea have statistically higher specific IgE levels than tolerant patients and controls. Copyright © 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel Introduction Legumes are an important component of the Mediter- ranean diet. In Spain, the intake of lentils, chick peas and white beans is very common. Sensitization to these le- gumes is relatively frequent, mainly in the pediatric popu- lation. Among Spanish children under 5 years of age, it is the fifth most prevalent food allergy [1]. Although some