Allergenic properties of Polish nectar honeys

Abstract

Background: Small amounts of protein can be found in honey, including well known allergen sources, such as plant pollen and honeybee secretions. Despite this, there are few case reports describing allergic reactions following the consumption of honey. The aim of this study was to examine the allergenic properties of nectar honey collected throughout the entire beekeeping season from different provinces in Poland.

Methods: The immunoreactive properties of 20 Polish nectar honeys were analysed using the sera of IgE pollen allergenic patients (n = 5). The botanical origins and pollen of the anemophilous plants in the studied honeys were identified through palynological analysis.

Results: The significant differences in the protein content between the five varieties of honey and the differences in protein pattern and pollen profiles were observed. All of the honey samples contained immunoreactive fractions reacting with IgE present in the sera of patients allergenic to different pollens.

Conclusions: Although honey allergies are reported relatively rarely, all the tested samples of Polish nectar honeys contained many protein fractions which reacted with the IgE antibodies of allergenic patients. In all samples, the immunoreactive protein band with a molecular weight around 60 kDa, probably secreted by bees, was present. The results do not allow the immunoreactive fractions characteristic for particular honey varieties to be identified.

Keywords: SDS-PAGE; allergenicity; immunoblotting; nectar honeys.