Common additive may be why you have food allergies

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-07/msu-cam071116.php

Public Release: 11-Jul-2016
Common additive may be why you have food allergies
Michigan State University

A Michigan State University researcher has found that a common food additive may be linked to a rise in food allergies.

Cheryl Rockwell, an assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the College of Human Medicine, began studying the possible link between the synthetic food additive tert-butylhydroquinone, or tBHQ, nine years ago.

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Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1972, tBHQ is a preservative in many foods, such as cooking oil, nuts, crackers, waffles and breads. Often tBHQ is not listed on the label, Rockwell said.

Her research has shown that tBHQ causes T cells, a critical part of the body's immune system, to release a set of proteins that can trigger allergies to such foods as nuts, milk, eggs, wheat and shell fish.

"I think of the immune system as a military force," Rockwell said. "Its job is to protect the body from pathogens, such as viruses. The T cells are the generals."

Normally, the T cells release proteins, known as cytokines, that help fight the invaders, she said, but when tBHQ was introduced in laboratory models, the T cells released a different set of cytokines that are known to trigger allergies to some foods.

Her studies showed that when tBHQ was present, the T cells started behaving differently.

"The T cells stopped acting as soldiers in the defense against pathogens and started causing allergies, Rockwell said. "What we're trying to find out now is why the T cells are behaving this way."

The expanded use of tBHQ, she said, parallels a rise in food allergies and an increase in the severity of some allergic reactions.

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