Research Article

Tomato allergy: impact of genotype and environmental factors on the biological response

  1. Sabine Dölle1,
  2. Dietmar Schwarz2,
  3. Karola Lehmann3,
  4. Wolfram Weckwerth4,
  5. Eckhard George2,
  6. Margitta Worm1,*,
  7. Philipp Franken2

Article first published online: 18 JUL 2011

DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.4443

Issue

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture

Volume 91, Issue 12, pages 2234–2240, September 2011

Additional Information

How to Cite

Dölle, S., Schwarz, D., Lehmann, K., Weckwerth, W., George, E., Worm, M. and Franken, P. (2011), Tomato allergy: impact of genotype and environmental factors on the biological response. J. Sci. Food Agric., 91: 2234–2240. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.4443

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Allergy-Centre-Charité, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

  2. 2

    Leibniz-Institute of Vegetables and Ornamental Crops, Großbeeren, Germany

  3. 3

    Proteome Factory AG, Berlin, Germany

  4. 4

    Department of Molecular Systems Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

*Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Allergy-Centre-Charité, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 19 AUG 2011
  2. Article first published online: 18 JUL 2011
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 24 MAR 2011
  4. Manuscript Revised: 19 NOV 2010
  5. Manuscript Received: 29 JUL 2010

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Keywords:

  • food allergy;
  • tomato;
  • cultivars;
  • environmental cultivation conditions

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Food allergies are increasing in the European population. At present the onset of symptoms can be avoided only by elimination of a particular fruit or vegetable from the diet. A new approach is to develop hypoallergenic food products. This study characterises the allergenic potential of tomatoes, considering cultivation conditions, developmental stages and genotypes, in order to identify hypoallergenic fruits.

RESULTS: Patients with a history of tomato allergy were recruited for skin allergy tests. Tomatoes carrying distinct genotypes were grown under various cultivation conditions and harvested at different maturation stages. Cultivation conditions (nitrogen fertilisation, light exposure and plant nutrition) did not affect the skin reactivity in tomato-allergic patients. However, skin reactivity was significantly lower when using green-unripe compared with red-ripe tomatoes and when using landrace cultivars compared with cultivars bred for use in organic horticulture.

CONCLUSION: Depending on their genetic background and maturity level, some tomato cultivars elicit positive reactions in tomato-allergic patients in the skin allergy test. This novel finding should pave the way for the development of tomatoes with reduced allergenicity to relieve sufferers of tomato allergy. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry

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