Mechanism
In OAS, the immune system produces antibodies that are capable of binding to both pollen proteins and structurally similar food proteins. Consequently, the same immune system response can trigger allergy symptoms in two different situations: hay fever (in the presence of pollen) and food allergy (in the presence of certain foods). Histamine releases from mast cells located in the oropharynx, gut and skin when IgE binds to the molecule causing local inflammation.
The triggering molecule involved is known as an allergen. Allergens vary in their stability and may or may not survive digestion, storage, heat, cold, cooking or pasteurisation.
Lipid transfer proteins (LTP) are not easily denatured by digestion or cooking and are important triggers of anaphylaxis.
The antibody may react to the linear (amino acid) sequence of the protein or to a conformational epitope. If the response is to the conformational epitope, then the person with OAS may be able to eat the food when it is cooked, but not when it is raw. If the response is to the linear sequence (common in tree pollen/nut allergies), then cooking the food has no effect on its ability to trigger an allergic reaction.
Read more about this topic: Oral Allergy Syndrome
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