Cow's Milk: a Food and a Potential Source of Allergens (original) (raw)
Cow's milk is an exclusive food of newborn infants when breast-feeding is not possible. It is also considered to be an important dietary source for adult humans. Because of it's richness in essential amino acids it can be of significant nutritional value. In addition, the hydrolysis of certain compounds releases bioactive peptides which have important biological properties. However, in some subjects, these peptides can be potentially allergenic and cause an adverse immunologic response, known as cow's milk allergy (CMA). Pathophysiological mechanisms involved in CMA are still not yet completely understood. A possible solution can be obtained by the use of extensively hydrolyzed formulae (enzymatic hydrolysis and/or heating and ultrafiltration) or by other technological methods (bacterial fermentation, microwave heating and gamma irradiation). These formulae show a reduced but never complete abolishment of antigenicity/allergenicity. This article attempts to present a review on main nutritional characteristics of cow's milk and impact of various technological means on antigenicity/allergenicity properties.
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Frontiers in Immunology, 2021
The prevalence of food allergy has increased over the last 20-30 years, including cow milk allergy (CMA) which is one of the most common causes of infant food allergy. International allergy experts met in 2019 to discuss broad topics in allergy prevention and management of CMA including current challenges and future opportunities. The highlights of the meeting combined with recently published developments are presented here. Primary prevention of CMA should start from pre-pregnancy with a focus on a healthy lifestyle and food diversity to ensure adequate transfer of inhibitory IgG- allergen immune complexes across the placenta especially in mothers with a history of allergic diseases and planned c-section delivery. For non-breastfed infants, there is controversy about the preventive role of partially hydrolyzed formulae (pHF) despite some evidence of health economic benefits among those with a family history of allergy. Clinical management of CMA consists of secondary prevention wit...
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