Seaweed May Help in Fighting Food Allergies

Seaweed has long been a staple food in many Asian countries and has recently caught on as a snack food in America as a healthful alternative to chips. The edible algae that fall in the category of seaweed are low-calorie and packed with nutrients.

However, shellfish allergy in the Asia-Pacific region in particular ranks among the highest in the world, and is the most common cause of food-induced anaphylaxis in the region.

 

Food allergies are a major global health issue that can be life threatening in some cases. One 2014 study by researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital estimates that the condition affects about 8 percent of children and 5 percent of adults worldwide.

 

In people who are allergic, certain compounds in food trigger a cascade of immune system reactions that lead to symptoms such as hives, wheezing and dizziness – and in the worst cases, anaphylactic shock.

 

Previous research has suggested that certain seaweed varieties contain polysaccharides with anti-asthmatic and anti-allergy effects. However, no one had investigated whether similar molecules in Gracilaria lemaneiformis (GLSP) –  a commercial variety of red algae – might have similar properties. Therefore Guang-Ming Liu from Jimei University, China, aimed to find this out.

 

The international team, including researchers from the US Department of Agriculture, and the British University of Nottingham, isolated polysaccharides from GLSP and fed them to a group of mice sensitive to tropomyosin, a protein that is a major shellfish allergen. Another group of mice, also sensitive to tropomyosin, did not get the polysaccharides. After both groups were given the allergen, allergy symptoms in the treated mice were reduced compared to the untreated animals.

 

On the basis of both in vivo and in vitro results, the researchers suggest that GLSP possesses anti-food allergic activity, and that dietary intervention with GLSP could alleviate the allergic symptoms of TM-sensitized mice.

 

In conclusion, GLSP may provide insight into the prevention of food allergy induced-anaphylaxis, and could therefore be used as a functional food component to prevent food allergic diseases.

 

However, further studying polysaccharides from GLSP could help lead to a better understanding of food allergies and their prevention, the researchers say.

 

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Scientific Foundation of Fujian Province, the Marine Scientific Research Special Foundation for Public Sector and the Xiamen South Ocean Research Center.