ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a broad overview on peanut allergy. It focuses on topics such as the prevalence of peanut allergy and the molecular characterisation of identified allergens. The chapter discusses related subjects concerning clinical relevance, the definition of threshold levels and insight on the available diagnosis and immunotherapies for peanut allergy. Peanuts have been highlighted as functional foods owing to their content of bioactive compounds. Their consumption has been related to health benefits, such as reducing the relative risk of coronary heart disease, protective effect on cancer risk, cholesterol-lowering effect, inflammation and vascular reactivity. Additionally, beneficial effects on blood pressure, visceral adiposity and metabolic syndrome have also been correlated with peanut and other nut consumption. However, peanuts are well-known as allergenic foods, representing one of the eight groups responsible for the majority of the reported adverse immunological responses in sensitised/allergic individuals.
