ABSTRACT
Several food sources contain isolated small fragments of proteins called peptides which provide some beneficial physiological effects to the human body. They serve as potential modifiers reducing the risk of many chronic diseases. However, upon assessment these proteins/peptides may still exert adverse effects in the form of abnormal immunological reactions (food allergy) upon consumption by susceptible patients, thereby limiting their widespread use. Food allergy is a life-threatening condition with growing health concern worldwide. An improvement in the insights on the underlying mechanisms that initiate tolerance and sensitization to allergens through mapping and characterization of epitopes on food allergens has led to a drastic change in the physical and clinical approach to mitigate food allergies. This involves a revolution in the concept of clinical immunotherapies and strategies for the mitigation of food allergies using food processing. As such, processing technologies (e.g., thermal processing, enzymatic hydrolysis, irradiation, high-pressure treatments etc.) are investigated to reduce food allergenicity by conformational changes and as a consequence develop novel hypoallergenic foods products. Although, based on the nature of the allergen, type of processing and intensity of treatment, the allergenicity food peptides/protein, remain unchanged, increase or decrease. In this chapter, we summarize current knowledge on the concept of food allergy, bioactive peptides exerting abnormal immune response and clinical manifestations, associated epitopes and approaches for mapping as well as the impact of food processing on the stability of allergenic peptides.
