Reduced-allergen peanuts being developed by Clemson researchers in Florence
(WPDE) — Peanut allergies, considered rare only 40-50 years ago, have become an everyday part of our society.
Even those who aren’t among the millions allergic can be impacted, with many public places putting a focus on being peanut-free…but thanks to some Clemson researchers and scientists, that could soon change.
“We’re trying to actually remove the four major allergens from the peanut seeds,” Dr. Sachin Rustgi, Associate Professor of Molecular Plant and Environmental Sciences at Clemson University, said. “That is the idea and it will actually reduce the allergenic potential of peanuts, and the peanut can be used as an oral immunotherapy to train the immune system of the sensitive individuals.”
Dr. Rustgi probably knows more about the legumes than Mr. Peanut himself. He’s leading up the team at Clemson’s Pee Dee Research & Education Center in Florence focused on creating reduced-allergen peanuts.
In the simplest terms, there are 16 proteins in a peanut that can cause allergies. His team is producing nuts with only a certain 12, because the other four account for a big bite of the problem.
“Not all individuals actually exhibit allergenicity to all 16 of them,” Dr. Rustgi said. “Largely the (four) major allergens that we are dealing with are what like 90% of the sensitive individuals react to. That’s how they were tagged as major or minor allergens.”
As he alluded to earlier, taking out 90% of the bad stuff could allow those with peanut allergies to implement peanuts into their diets.
Of course, they’d need to take it one peanut at a time, under supervision.
“These peanuts can slowly develop like the immunity in an individual who is sensitive,” Dr. Rustgi said. “That should be done through like, say a doctor or a clinic. Not just like going and eating a certain amount of the peanuts.”
There could also plenty of perks for those without allergies.
“It will reduce the requirement to develop a peanut-free environment in households for a sensitive individual,” Dr. Rustgi said. “(Now) the whole family has to be actually kind of create a peanut-free environment, that may be not needed because these peanuts will not trigger similar reaction as a regular peanut would.”
It could also be a benefit to South Carolina farmers for the nut to be developed here.
“If we modify the crop, eventually we will be able to lower down the cost significantly because we will use it as a trade eventually which we can breed for,” Dr. Rustgi said.
He said a widespread rollout of the modified peanuts is at least five years away. But that means it may not be too long before people are enjoying their beloved salty snacks wherever they want again.
“The airplanes will start to sell peanuts and then the schools will have peanuts and we don’t have to maintain such a peanut-free environment that we are forced to create,” Dr. Rustgi said.
