Prevalence data are based on different diagnostic procedures. While the prevalence of sensitization (sensitivity) can be estimated by SPT, RAST, and immunoblot, a clinical relevant sensitization (allergy) is evaluated by convincing history (anamnesis) or food challenge tests (ideally by DBPCFC).
1.1 General Population
Prevalence estimates within the author's selected populations
are listed. Those that are assigned randomly selected ("unselected") with
numbers more than 500 may be regarded as representative of the "general
populations". Inclusion criteria may involve circumstances not related
to atopic predisposition according to current knowledge.
| Country / Subjects | Allergy / Sensitivity | References |
| Australia, Victoria
a) 332 unselected new-born infants b) 4078 children with suspected peanut or tree nut allergy (age < 14 years) (study 1990-96) c) 620 children at risk of atopy (followed from birth for 2 years) |
sesame seed 0.42%
(frequency of sesame seed allergy in b), corrected for prevalence ratio to peanut allergy in b) and c), extrapolated by risk of atopy in a) |
Hill et al. 1997 |
| UK
16420 randomly selected adults (age of >15 years) |
sesame seed 0.04% (interview survey, questionnaire) | Emmett et al. 1999 |
1.2 Subjects with Atopic or Other Diseases
| Country / Subjects | Allergy / Sensitivity | References |
| Australia, Victoria
4078 children with suspected peanut or tree nut allergy (age < 14 years) (study 1990-96) |
sesame seed 8.5% (SPT >3+, n=2789) | Sporik & Hill 1996 |
| France
80 cases of food- related anaphylaxis (study period 1993-97) |
sesame seed 5.0%
(reported to CICBAA databank) |
European Commission 1998 |
| France, Nancy and Toulouse
544 food allergic children |
sesame seed 0.9% (food challenge) | Rance et al. 1999 |
| Netherlands
131 cases of food- induced anaphylaxis (from 1993-1997) |
sesame seed 1.5% (survey, reported to the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute) | European Commission 1998 |
| Sweden
61 cases of food- induced anaphylaxis (from 1994-1996) |
sesame seed 4.9% (reported to the National Food Administration) | European Commission 1998 |
| Switzerland, Bern
22 patients with severe food-induced anaphylaxis (study period 1994-96) |
sesame seed 4.5% | Rohrer et al. 1998 |
| Switzerland, Zurich
a) 402 food allergic adults (study period 1978-87) b) 383 food allergic patients (study period 1990-94) |
a) sesame seed 1.2%
b) sesame seed 0.5% (anamnesis, clinical relevance, diagnostic tests) |
a) Wüthrich 1993
b) Etesamifar & Wüthrich 1998 |
| UK, Manchester
90 patients expierenced anaphylactic reactions to foods (from 1994-1996) |
sesame seed 2.2% (suspected cause of patients' worst reaction) | Pumphrey & Stanworth 1996 |
1.3 Associated Allergies
| Country / Subjects | Allergy / Sensitivity | References | |||||||||||||||
| USA, Los Angeles, CA
4 patients with history of sesame seed allergy |
|
Malish et al. 1981 | |||||||||||||||
| USA, New York, NY
111 peanut and/or tree nut allergic patients |
Sesame specific IgE:
strong correlation (r >0.7) to hazelnut, brazil nut, and almond; moderate correlation (r >0.6) to walnut and pistachio (RAST) |
Sicherer et al. 1998 |
2 Symptoms of Sesame Seed Allergy
| Symptoms & Case Reports | References |
| Systemic reactions
anaphylaxis (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18) Symptoms of skin and mucous membranes
Gastrointestinal symptoms
Respiratory symptoms
Other symptoms
|
(1) Rubenstein 1950
(2) Uvitsky 1951 (3) Torsney 1964 (4) Malish et al. 1981 (5) Eechout et al. 1989 (6) Steurich 1989 (7) Cassilda et al. 1991 (8) Chiu & Haydik 1991 (9) James et al. 1991 (10) Keskinen et al. 1991 (11) Kägi & Wüthrich 1993 (12) Vocks et al. 1993 (13) Eberlein-König et al. 1995 (14) Alday et al. 1996 (15) Kanny et al. 1996 (16) Stern & Wüthrich 1998 (17) Asero et al. 1999 (18) Pajno et al. 2000 |
| Onset of Symptoms
Symptoms occurred within a few minutes up to 90 minutes after ingestion of sesame seed flour (7 patients positive to oral provocation tests) |
(1) Kanny et al. 1996 |
| Threshold for Elicitation of Symptoms
Oral challenge with doses of 200 mg to 2 g of sesame seeds: positive reactions at 2 g in a patient with history of sesame seed allergy (1) Provocation with sesame seed flour was positive in 7 of 9 patients: in 1 case at 100 mg dose, in 3 cases at 7 g, and in 3 cases at 10 g; 1 of 2 patients reacted to sesame seed oil at a dose of 3 mL (double-blind and single-blind oral provocation tests ) (2) Challenge with sesame seeds was positive in 5 of 6 patients: in 1 case at 100 mg dose, in 3 cases at 7 g, and in 1 case at 10 g; 1 patient reacted to sesame seed oil at a dose of 15 mL (DBPCFC ) (3) |
(1) Eberlein-König
et al. 1995
(2) Kanny et al. 1996 (3) Kolopp-Sarda et al. 1997 |
3 Diagnostic Features of Sesame Seed
Allergy
| Parameters / Subjects | Outcome | References |
| SPT and IgE
Sesame seed allergic patient with generalized urticaria |
Negative SPT and RAST; positive oral challenge | Eberlein-König et al. 1995 |
| SPT and IgE
Sesame seed allergic patients |
Positivity in 6 patients in SPT:
commercial extract 50% crude sesame seeds 100% Sensitivity of RAST: 28% |
Kanny et al. 1996 |
| SPT, RAST, and DBPCFC
12 sesame seed allergic patients |
Positivity in SPT (>3 mm):
commercial extract 0% (n=8) crude sesame seeds 64% (n=11) RAST: 50% (n=10) DBPCFC: 83% (n=6) |
Kolopp-Sarda et al. 1997 |
| SPT, RAST, and DBPCFC
A 45-year old woman with non-IgE-mediated anaphylaxis after ingestion of sesame seeds and sesame oil |
SPT and RAST to sesame seed were negative, while DBPCFC with sesame seeds and sesame oil masked in bread were positive | Stern & Wüthrich 1998 |
| SPT, RAST, and DBPCFC
A 18-year old woman with non-IgE-mediated anaphylaxis after ingestion of sesame seeds |
SPT and RAST to sesame seed were negative, while DBPCFC with sesame seeds masked in bread were positive | Pajno et al. 2000 |
| Specifid Serum IgG, IgA, IgE
10 sesame seed allergic patients |
Specific IgG to 6-10 sesame seed proteins recognized by 2-9 sera; specific IgA to 5-10 proteins recognized by 1-9 sera; specific IgE to 1 or 3 proteins recognized by 1-6 sera | Kolopp-Sarda et al. 1997 |
| Proteins / Glycoproteins | Allergen Nomenclature | References |
| 2S albumin [10 kDa] | Ses i 1 | Allergen Nomenclature Sub-Committee 2001 |
| Allergen: 25 kDa | Kolopp-Sarda et al. 1997 | |
| Allergen: 14 kDa | Alday et al. 1996 | |
| Sesame Profilin | van Ree et al. 1992 | |
| Allergens: 10, 12, 15-20, 25, and 30-67 kDa | Asero et al. 1999 |
5.1 Sensitization to Sesame Seed Allergens
| Country / Subjects | Sensitivity to | References | ||||||||||||||||
| France, Nancy
10 sesame seed allergic patients |
(SDS-PAGE immunoblot) |
Kolopp-Sarda et al. 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
| Netherlands, Amsterdam
1 patient with profilin specific serum IgE |
Specific IgE against sesame profilin: 8.8% binding
(RAST, L-proline Sepharose bound profilin) |
van Ree et al. 1992 | ||||||||||||||||
| USA, Los Angeles, CA
2 patients with history of sesame seed allergy |
|
Malish et al. 1981 |
| Extract / Purified Allergens | Methods | References |
| Protein extract | Seeds extracted with 0.1-M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) for 2 h at 8°C, followed by centrifugation, vacuum filtration, and desalting on PD 10 columns | Vocks et al. 1993 |
| Protein extract | Seeds grounded and extracted with 0.1-M Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.4) containing 0.14-M NaCl and deoxycholate, Triton X-100, and Nonidet P-40; followed by ultracentrifugation | Kolopp-Sarda et al. 1997 |
| Cross-Reacting Allergens | Subjects / Methods | References |
| Sesame Seed (Poppy Seed)
sesame and poppy seed allergens |
Inhibition of IgE-binding to 10 and 12 kDa sesame seed allergens by poppy seed extract and to 12 kDa poppy seed allergen by sesame seed extract (immunoblot inhibition, 1 patient) | Asero et al. 1999 |
| Sesame Seed (Foods)
hazelnuts, rye grain |
Decrease of IgE-binding to hazelnut and rye allergens by sesame seed extract (immunoblot inhibition, 2 sesame seed sensitive patients) | Vocks et al. 1993 |
| Sesame Seed (Foods)
hazelnuts, rye grain |
78 and 91% inhibition of IgE-binding to sesame seed by hazelnut; 57 and 87% inhibition to sesame seed by rye flour (2 sesame seed sensitive patients, RAST inhibition) | Seifert et al. 1988 |
8 Allergenicity of Different Sesame Varieties
| Varieties / Subjects | Differences | References |
| Brown and White Sesame Seeds
6 sesame seed allergic patients |
No significant differences in SPT with brown and white sesame seeds | Kanny et al. 1996 |
| Brown and White Sesame Seeds
6 sesame seed allergic patients |
With the exception of 2 patients no significant differences in SPT with brown and white sesame seeds | Kolopp-Sarda et al. 1997 |
9 Stability of Sesame Seed Allergens
| Treatment | Effects | References |
| Sesame Seed and Oil (Heat)
masked in baked bread |
Sesame seeds and sesame oil baked in bread induced allergic reactions in DBPCFC (1 patient) | Stern & Wüthrich 1998 |
| Sesame Seed (Heat)
masked in baked bread |
Sesame seeds baked in bread induced allergic reactions in DBPCFC (1 patient) | Pajno et al. 2000 |
| Reported Adverse Reactions | References |
| Sesame Seeds
After ingestion of sesame seeds (1) |
(1) see 2 Symptoms of Sesame Seed Allergy |
| Falafel Burger (Tahin)
Anaphylactic reaction to falafel vegetable burgers in 3 patients allergic to sesame seeds: the burgers were served together with a white sauce containing sesame seed paste (tahini) (1) |
(1) Kägi & Wüthrich 1993 |
| Sesame Oil Containing Products
31 year old man with history of systemic anaphylaxis, asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and urticaria after ingestion of a salad containing sesame seed oil (1) |
(1) Malish et al. 1981 |
| Various Foods
Allergic reactions in a patient after ingestion of bread, halvah, sesame seeds and oil (1) Allergic reactions in a patient after ingestion of halvah and pastries (2) Allergic reactions in 3 patients after ingestion of crackers, sesame seeds, and paste (3) Allergic reactions in 4 sesame seed allergic patients after ingestion of sesame seeds, halvah candy, hamburger on sesame seed bun; 3 of 4 patients were RAST positive (4) Allergic reactions in 9 sesame seed allergic patients after ingestion of sesame and rice cake, bakery products, Chinese food, appetizer, halvah, pizza, Turkish cake, breads, and hamburger sandwich (5) |
(1) Rubenstein 1950
(2) Uvitsky 1951 (3) Torsney 1964 (4) Malish et al. 1981 (5) Kanny et al. 1996 |
| Cosmetics Containing Sesame Seed Oil
Allergic reactions to lipsticks, moisturizing cream, and body oil containing sesame seed oil in 2 patients with positive SPT to crushed sesame seeds and open tests with products; both were RAST negative |
Pecquet et al. 1998 |
| Sesame Seed Dust
Occupational allergy in a 26 year old baker due to sesame seed dust: positive SPT, RAST, and PEF (peak expiratory flow) (1) Occupational asthma in a baker due to sesame seeds: positive SPT, histamine release, and PEF (1) |
(1) Keskinen et al. 1991
(2) Alday et al. 1996 |
| Food Allergen | Labelling / Regulation Status | References |
| International Regulations
Sesame seeds and products of these |
labelling not recommended (1) | (1) Codex Alimentarius Commission 1999 |
| European Regulations
Sesame seeds and products of these |
labelling appropriate / recommendation (1) | (1) Bousquet et al. 1998 |