[A CASE OF A 7-YEAR-OLD GIRL WITH ANAPHYLAXIS CAUSED BY PECTIN IN ALBEDO OF CITRUS UNSHIU BUT NOT BY THE FRUIT ITSELF].

Pectin is used in several foods as an additive and a thickner. But some cases of anaphylaxis have been reported. Most of these are induced by occasional exposures; however, no cases of anaphylaxis after eating a Citrus unshiu, the albedo of which is rich in pectin, have been reported.A 7-year-old girl developed barking cough and pruritus approximately two hours after eating a frozen Citrus unshiu. She had a history of anaphylaxis induced by consuming cashew nuts. Skin testing and basophil activation tests were performed using a commercially available pectin product. Both tests were positive. In an oral food challenge test, she felt abdominal pain and nausea only after eating fruit, along with the albedo, of Citrus unshiu. We concluded that this case was induced by pectin present in the albedo of Citrus unshiu, but not by the fruit itself. We should consider that patients with cashew nut allergies have a possibility of pectin allergies as well, and that pectin in the albedo of Citrus unshiu may induce anaphylaxis.