Non-digestible oligosaccharides scFOS/lcFOS facilitate safe subcutaneous immunotherapy for peanut allergy

New and Emerging Concepts and Therapies for the Treatment of Food Allergy

Food allergy is an increasingly common disease that often starts in early childhood and lasts throughout life. Self-reported food allergy has risen at a rate of 1.2% per decade since 1988, and by 2018, the prevalence of food allergy in the United States was estimated to be 8% in children and 11% in adults.^- This prevalence has led to an economic burden of almost $25 billion annually. Despite these staggering statistics, as of the time of this writing, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only approved one treatment for food allergy, which is limited to use in children with peanut allergy. Fortunately, a new horizon of therapeutic interventions, in all stages of development, lay ahead and hold promise for the near future.

A Comprehensive Review on Natural Bioactive Compounds and Probiotics as Potential Therapeutics in Food Allergy Treatment

Food allergy is rising at an alarming rate and is a major public health concern. Globally, food allergy affects over 500 million people, often starting in early childhood and increasingly reported in adults. Commercially, only one approved oral immunotherapy-based treatment is currently available and other allergen-based immunotherapeutic are being investigated in clinical studies. As an alternative approach, a substantial amount of research has been conducted on natural compounds and probiotics, focusing on the immune modes of action, and therapeutic uses of such sources to tackle various immune-related diseases. Food allergy is primarily mediated by IgE antibodies and the suppression of allergic symptoms seems to be mostly modulated through a reduction of allergen-specific IgE antibodies, upregulation of blocking IgG, and downregulation of effector cell activation (e.g., mast cells) or expression of T-helper 2 (Th-2) cytokines. A wide variety of investigations conducted in small animal models or cell-based systems have reported on the efficacy of natural bioactive compounds and probiotics as potential anti-allergic therapeutics. However, very few lead compounds, unlike anti-cancer and anti-microbial applications, have been selected for clinical trials in the treatment of food allergies. Natural products or probiotic-based approaches appear to reduce the symptoms and/or target specific pathways independent of the implicated food allergen. This broad range therapeutic approach essentially provides a major advantage as several different types of food allergens can be targeted with one approach and potentially associated with a lower cost of development. This review provides a brief overview of the immune mechanisms underlying food allergy and allergen-specific immunotherapy, followed by a comprehensive collection of current studies conducted to investigate the therapeutic applications of natural compounds and probiotics, including discussions of their mode of action and immunological aspects of their disease-modifying capabilities.