Proteomic identification of allergenic seed proteins, napin and cruciferin, from cold-pressed rapeseed oils

In Finland and France atopic children commonly react to seeds of oilseed rape and turnip rape in skin prick tests (SPT) and open food challenges. These seeds are not as such in dietary use and therefore the routes of sensitization are unknown. Possible allergens were extracted from commercial cold-pressed and refined rapeseed oils and identified by gel-based tandem nanoflow liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Napin (a 2S albumin), earlier identified as a major allergen in the seeds of oilseed rape and turnip rape, and cruciferin (an 11S globulin), a new potential seed allergen, were detected in cold-pressed oils, but not in refined oils. Pooled sera from five children sensitized or allergic to oilseed rape and turnip rape seeds reacted to these proteins from cold-pressed oil preparations and individual sera from five children reacted to these proteins extracted from the seeds when examined with IgE immunoblotting. Hence cold-pressed rapeseed oil might be one possible route of sensitization for these allergens.