Emilia Majsiak, Magdalena Choina, Weronika Gromek, Julia Wykrota, Danuta Kozłowska, Jakub Swadźba, Bożena Cukrowska, Krzysztof Kowal
Department of Health Promotion, Faculty Health of Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Staszica 4/6, Lublin, 20-081, Poland.
Department of Experimental Allergology and Immunology, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 9;15(1):1466. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-83645-4.
The European Commission authorized the use of dried yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor - TM) as a food ingredient under Regulation EU 2021/882. As TM emerges as an important allergen source, sensitization and allergy to TM in various populations need investigation. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of sensitization to TM before its introduction as a food ingredient in Poland, as well as checking the occurrence of co-sensitivity to TM and other invertebrate allergenic extracts and molecules. This analysis was performed using serum allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) results in 6,173 individuals using the ALEX2 test to detect sensitivity to TM and other related allergens. A total of 4.3% of the study population had sIgE to TM extract, with 0.7% of those individuals being mono-sensitized to TM. Sensitization to TM was most commonly associated with a positive response to house cricket and migratory locust allergens. sIgE antibodies against TM significantly more commonly (p < 0.001) co-occurred with sIgE against other invertebrate allergens. Patients with sIgE against TM were most likely sensitised to tropomyosins (49.1% of patients), Niemann-Pick C2 protein (43.8%), group 5/21 allergen (38.6%), class III chitinases (37.1%), and cysteine proteases (34.1%). Based on the serum asIgE levels to TM prior to this ingredient being introduced as a food in Poland, we hypothesised that this primary sensitization may be associated with invertebrate allergies. Our analysis showed that sensitisation to TM was most commonly associated with a positive reaction to house dust mites and shrimp tropomyosins. Therefore, we speculate that individuals allergic to shrimp should exercise caution when consuming foods containing TM.
欧盟委员会根据欧盟法规（EU）2021/882批准将黄粉虫干（黄粉虫 - TM）用作食品成分。由于黄粉虫已成为一种重要的过敏原来源，因此需要对不同人群中对黄粉虫的致敏和过敏情况进行调查。本研究的目的是评估在波兰将黄粉虫作为食品成分引入之前的致敏发生率，并检查对黄粉虫与其他无脊椎动物过敏原提取物和分子的共同致敏情况。使用ALEX2检测对6173名个体的血清过敏原特异性免疫球蛋白E（sIgE）结果进行分析，以检测对黄粉虫和其他相关过敏原的敏感性。共有4.3%的研究人群对黄粉虫提取物有sIgE，其中0.7%的个体对黄粉虫单致敏。对黄粉虫的致敏最常与对家蟋蟀和飞蝗过敏原的阳性反应相关。针对黄粉虫的sIgE抗体与针对其他无脊椎动物过敏原的sIgE同时出现的情况明显更常见（p < 0.001）。对黄粉虫有sIgE的患者最容易对原肌球蛋白致敏（49.1%的患者）、尼曼-皮克C2蛋白（43.8%）、5/21组过敏原（38.6%）、III类几丁质酶（37.1%）和半胱氨酸蛋白酶（34.1%）。基于在波兰将该成分作为食品引入之前针对黄粉虫的血清asIgE水平，我们推测这种初次致敏可能与无脊椎动物过敏有关。我们的分析表明，对黄粉虫的致敏最常与对屋尘螨和虾原肌球蛋白的阳性反应相关。因此，我们推测对虾过敏的个体在食用含有黄粉虫的食物时应谨慎。
