Allergy to eggplant ( Solanum melongena)

Allergic reactions to tomato, potato, and bell pepper have appeared in the medical literature.1-4Profilin from tomato (Lyc e 1) is an important cross-reactive allergen in grass and birch pollen-sensitized subjects.1 The storage protein, patatin (Sol t 1), is the major allergen in potato2; in addition, 4 Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitors have been identified as allergens.3A pathogenesis-related protein (Cap a 1) belonging to the PR-5 family of thaumatin-like proteins has been described in bell pepper.4 Eggplant (Solanum melongena) is a widely cultivated perennial herb whose edible fruit is an important vegetable5 (commonly known as brinjal in India). All 3 allergic subjects' sera detected 3 protein bands of relative molecular mass (Mr) of 71, 64, and 60 kDa, whereas control serum (serum pooled from four normal subjects without any symptoms of allergy to foods) did not detect any protein band (Fig 1, B).