Plant albumin - in amaranth too
"Extrusion" - food processing methods to make it into Nixtamalized flour may reduce the allergenic potential. *My ongoing quest for protein foods that my autoimmune condition can tolerate.
This post is about my albumin autoimmune allergy (alleged by me, based on trial and error) and trying to figure out what I can eat, or if preparation methods might make a difference. Possibly with amaranth - if I presoak it with a Nixtamalizing alkali and then ‘extrude’ it into a flour??? I don’t know if a home kitchen could replicate whatever that method entails - grind it somehow. I have used a KitchenAid grinder for other presoaked grains and nuts but amaranth would be too small for the grinder blade.
My initial problems with non-healing rash that I traced to albumin as a potential autoimmune began in 2015: November 2, 2015, Calciphylaxis, molecular mimicry and egg white albumin; an experiment, n = 1. I was aware that ginger and wheat have ‘plant albumin’ since 2012 when I was researching the bioactive chemicals in ginger: February 20, 2012, Wheat is rich in Albumin – so are egg whites and ginger.
Albumin is a protein involved in fluid balance within blood plasma. Puffy edema will give a lower than normal value and dehydration a more concentrated, higher than normal value. Severely ill people with chronic malnutrition may have a low value but not necessarily. It is a protein essential for normal health and is in most animal based foods and here I find it is prevalent in nuts, seeds, beans, and grains too. “Plant eggs” have Nature's Kickstart protein. It is rich in cysteine and sulfur needed for growing cells.
Plant albumin was called that during early research history, because it could coagulate like egg white - the 2S refers to sedimentation rate - how likely a chemical is to separate out of a liquid solution. The plant ‘albumin’ can make up a significant portion of the seed protein - 30% in buckwheat: “Sucrose density gradient centrifugation showed that approximately 30% of total buckwheat proteins migrated with a 2S sedimentation coefficient.” (Radovic, et al., 1999)
“The term albumin was initially applied to plant proteins which resembled hen egg albumin in being coagulable but was subsequently restricted to proteins which were soluble in water and coagulable by heat (Osborne, 1924). Osborne (1924) also recognised a problem in defining albumins which remains to this day: direct water extracts of tissues will contain low concentrations of salts which need to be removed by dialysis in order to obtain a true albumin fraction. Osborne concluded that albumins are generally present in small quantities in seeds and listed four types which had been characterized in most detail:
leucosin from barley, wheat and rye,
legumelin from a range of legumes (including pea, soybean and cowpea),
phaselin from kidney bean and
ricin from castor bean.” (Shewry and Pandya, 1999)
Since ricin is water soluble, it does not remain in castor oil after processing. (Brave AI summary)
Albumin had been used as a sign of protein malnutrition, however, fluid imbalance needs to be ruled out first as that is a more common cause of changes in blood levels of albumin.
Original water color and summary by Ali Booker, RD, (x.com/AliBooker_RD).
I need my body to tolerate my albumin - it does important things for my health.
In allergies, repeated exposure to the problem protein can lead to hypersensitivity as more antibodies are created against the protein. In autoimmune molecular mimicry, the antibodies may attack the food protein albumin or my own. Avoiding the food allergen as much as possible helps reduce symptoms for allergies or autoimmune conditions. In Celiac disease, strict avoidance for six months can make the antibody level drop and reduce symptoms - continue avoiding the allergen protein to prevent more antibody production by memory B cells.
Many people might have symptoms due to food sensitivity
…but it may not be diagnosed. Leaving chronic symptoms and maybe medication/s use - but no real resolution of the problem …so chronic degeneration is also likely occurring.
This information may relate to a lot more people than me, but we probably wouldn’t know for sure, because getting a lab test for autoimmune antibodies against albumin is not something my doctor had available to order. It is checked in research studies. A standard food allergy to eggs wouldn’t be the same reaction or lab screening. The main symptoms that I have associated with my autoimmune egg reaction have been skin rash that was more open sores than dry scaly eczema. It was different. The scalp hair loss is related to some skin rash symptoms too but not in all areas that lost hair - the hair loss is an escalation of symptoms.
Dose matters - rotate foods and have diversity to reduce risk (and get in the sun for vitamin D).
Binge eating, or your favorites that you use daily in sensible portions, are likely to be the foods that lead to food allergies or autoimmune issues. Whatever proteins the digestive system has to process each day, are the proteins that might be leaking through undigested if digestive function and membrane strength are reduced.
Dose matters - at initial onset I had been eating a lot more hard boil eggs than typical for me and this year I did go way overboard on pecans for a while, 8 ounces a day might not have been unusual. I wrote a Squirrely Diet post at the time, showing that trying to do a ‘Keto’ version of a vegan diet would be practically impossible without use of some concentrated protein powders. Way too many pecans were in my example ‘diet plan’. I knew eating too many pecans was too good to be true.
Dose matters - a Di-sulfide bond in 2S albumin makes it hard to digest
The 2S albumin of nuts, seeds, legumes and cereal grains is difficult to digest because of a disulfide bond - that means the whole protein can make it through the stomach and intestines undigested and may enter the bloodstream whole - where it may set up molecular mimicry antibodies against our own albumin, or just set up an allergy reaction to the foreign version of the protein.
Genetically I am slow at sulfur metabolism, and everyone in general can be at risk from large intakes of sulfur chemicals as the metabolic pathways do tend to get backed up. Imagine a factory that has to process a daily load of work, but then the airplane loads of more work is flown in, suddenly the factory is maxed out and unprocessed work is collecting in any spare space on the factory floor - and that makes it even harder to function.
Supporting sulfation pathways can include not overloading it with sulfite preservatives from dried fruits or some dried mushrooms. Taking a magnesium sulfate bath that is not overly long can support it by providing bioactive sulfate but not too much of it at once. People with autism tend to have poor sulfation. Supporting sulfation is a separate post topic.
Pumpkin seeds may have a version of 2S albumin that is different enough for me to tolerate (???) Trial and error can be the most accurate way to learn of your food sensitivities.
“A pumpkin 2S albumin with ribonuclease (RNase) activity was purified from pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita sp.) by liquid chromatographic techniques. It manifested potent RNase activity toward baker's yeast RNA and calf liver RNA, and some polyhomoribonucleotides, including poly(A), poly(U) and poly(C) but not poly(G). Moreover, it was able to hydrolyze total RNA of both animal and plant origins. Ions such as Na(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), and Zn(2+) inhibited its RNase activity. Since RNase activity has not been previously reported in 2S albumins, this work may shed further light on the biological importance of this group of proteins.” (Fang, et al., 2010)
The plant albumin can add up to a significant amount of the total weight of seeds:
“About 80 mg purified protein was obtained from 285 g fresh pumpkin seeds.” (Fang, et al., 2010)
From Figure 3 - the 2S albumin amino acid sequence is 38% similar to that of the 2S albumin protein in black walnut, 38% similar to that of cashews - Anacardium occidentale, and 36% similar to that in Ricinus communis - castor beans (from which castor oil is made). It was 78% similar to “ribosome-inactivating protein luffin S2 from Luffa aegyptiaca” - (the cucumber family seed gourd that is sold as Luffa sponges). (Fang, et al., 2010) Therefore, the pumpkin seed version of plant albumin may be different enough from the tree nut version for me to be able to have them - in moderation. The Squirrely diet is for squirrels.
Amaranth
Processed amaranth, Nixtamalized and “extruded” was less allergenic than the whole grain in an animal-based study which injected the animals with the test proteins. I have generally found myself able to eat amaranth. Pre-soaking it first seems to improve digestibility too. Nixtamalization uses a spoonful of strong alkali in the presoaking step.
“Our results show that amaranth albumins have the potential to sensitize and are more likely than globulins to trigger allergic reactions after amaranth ingestion.
Contrary to the non-extruded albumin fraction from amaranth, the extruded fraction failed to trigger an IgE immune response. Furthermore, it failed to increase the serum levels of mMCP-1 after intragastric challenge with the protein of interest. The lack of anti-albumin IgE responses could be attributed to the loss of allergenic epitopes as a consequence of the extrusion process, since some protein bands were missed after extrusion. Previous studies have shown that the extrusion process negatively impacts the sensitizing and allergenic potential of food allergens, either reducing the IgE immune responses triggered or lowering the serum levels of mMCP-1 [16,17]. Taken together, under the basis of the sensitizing and allergenic potential evaluations in a murine model, the results show that amaranth albumins and globulins can be considered as hypoallergenic ingredients in foodstuff formulations, especially when the food processing involves an extrusion process.” (Cárdenas-Torres, et al., 2019)
Tree Nuts
In reading about plant albumin in nuts, I saw that people with peanut allergies tend to be sensitive to pistachios too which also have a 2S albumin version. Cashew sensitivity might also be an indicator that pistachios are a risk too. (Ahn, et al., 2009) I did find that presoaking, removing the peels and cooking helped me with digestion of pistachios. I have stopped eating cashews and pistachios with my recent hair loss issues, but I stopped eating peanuts many years ago as a bad migraine trigger - suggesting they were a significant allergen for me, maybe they caused enough of a histamine reaction to lead to a migraine later - or peanuts are a good source of tyramine which can also cause migraines. (Vasamathi, 2018)
“Novel allergens in pistachio, Pis v 1 and Pis v 2, which belong to 2S albumin and 11S globulin family, respectively, were isolated and the genes encoding these allergens were identified.” […] “Analysis by Edman sequencing and MS/MS revealed that these proteins were homologue to the cashew nut allergens Ana o 3 and Ana o 2, respectively.” (Ahn, et al., 2009)
Sesame seeds
Sesame seeds are also in this cluster of food allergies - peanuts, cashews, pistachios, and sesame seed all have a type of 2S albumin. Pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and Brazil nuts do too. Peanuts are associated with tree nut allergies but the type of tree nut varies. Cashew and pistachio tree nut allergies are fairly closely associated, and pecan and walnut allergies are also linked with co-allergy rates approaching 90-100%. (Dreskin, et al., 2021)
“The clinical and immunologic data summarized here suggest an immunologic basis for these coallergies that is based on similarities among the 2S albumins. Data from component resolved diagnostics have highlighted the relationship between IgE binding to these allergens and the presence of IgE-mediated food allergy. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo experiments provide strong evidence that the 2S albumins are the most important allergens in peanuts for inducing an allergic effector response. Although the 2S albumins are diverse, they have a common disulfide-linked core with similar physicochemical properties that make them prime candidates to explain much of the observed coallergy among peanuts, tree nuts, and sesame seeds. The well-established frequency of cashew and pistachio nut coallergy (64%-100%) highlights how the structural similarities among their 2S albumins may account for observed clinical cross-reactivity.” […] “The goals of this manuscript are to review studies establishing that clinical cross-reactivity among peanuts, tree nuts and sesame seeds is prevalent, to review the evidence that the 2S albumins appear to be the most important allergens of peanuts, tree nuts and sesame seeds and to demonstrate how the structures of 2S albumins likely contribute to clinical cross-reactivity among these foods.” (Dreskin, et al., 2021)
The disulfide-linked amino acids make 2S-albumin more resistant to digestion than typical proteins. Even after two hours of simulated digestion 25% was found to remain whole in a study working with Brazil nut protein. (Moreno, et al., 2005)
Flax seeds - ground flax seeds
Flax seeds also have 2S albumin and have caused allergies, cashew and peanut proteins were found to have cross-reactivity - cause similar allergy reactions I think. (Bueno-Díaz, et al., 2022)
Peanuts are legumes
Peanuts are botanically a legume rather than a nut - but both are “fertilized ovules” - eggs for the plant. (Dreskin, et al., 2021) Nature loves a good design and sticks with it across species - egg albumin in bird eggs is also a nutrient storage chemical for plant “eggs”.
“Peanuts are legumes that grow underground and are phylogenetically different from nuts that grow on trees.16 However, peanuts, tree nuts and sesame seeds are all seeds in that they are fertilized ovules of their respective plants, so it is not surprising that these foods have similar physiology and biochemistry.17” (Dreskin, et al., 2021)
Soy beans are also legumes :-)
Soybeans also have the 2S albumin. (Wikipedia)
“2S albumins form a major group of homologous storage proteins in many dicot species and in some monocots but not in grasses (cereals).[41] Soybeans contain a small but significant 2S storage protein.[42][43][44] 2S albumin are grouped in the prolamin superfamily.[45] Other allergenic proteins included in this 'superfamily' are the non-specific plant lipid transfer proteins, alpha amylase inhibitor, trypsin inhibitors, and prolamin storage proteins of cereals and grasses.[34]
Peanuts, for instance, contain 20% 2S albumin but only 6% 7S globulin and 74% 11S.[41] It is the high 2S albumin and low 7S globulin that is responsible for the relatively low lysine content of peanut protein compared to soy protein.” (Wikipedia)
*Aside: This webpage has a really nice chart comparing the macro and micro nutritional content of 10 staple starch/protein foods. (Wikipedia/Soybean)
Pumpkin Seeds . . . are also plant eggs
I have still been eating pumpkin seeds and it doesn’t seem to cause the same pain/itchiness in my hair follicles as eating ginger, pecans, pistachios, and sesame seeds or tahini caused. Sunflower seeds might be a problem too but wasn’t as obvious. During the onset of my hair loss, it hurt, HURT, and it is odd to even be that aware of your hair follicles unless someone is pulling your hair, or it got caught on something. The Lavender essential oil was physically soothing for that painful sensitivity. I haven’t been using it regularly now that I am no longer in pain, because …oily….
However, pumpkin seeds also have a plant albumin. It is not a frequent allergen, but allergies have been documented in research case reports. Allergy to other gourds and cucumber seeds may occur then and/or Rosacea fruits. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12388714_Allergy_to_pumpkin_and_cross-reactivity_to_other_Cucurbitaceae_fruits
Fruits in the family Rosacea include:
“…apples, pears, quinces, apricots, plums, cherries, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, loquats, strawberries, rose hips, hawthorns, and almonds.” (Wikipedia)
Food lists are also available for histamine trigger foods which are known to flair up the redness of the condition called Rosacea. It includes some of the Rosacea fruits but not all of them and includes other fruits that are histamine containing triggers: “Tomatoes, Pineapple, Strawberries, Papaya, Red plums.” It also mentions that non-organic fruits seem to flair-up rosacea skin symptoms due to the pesticides and heavy metal contaminants. “…non-organic fruits, particularly: Apples, Peaches, Nectarines, Pears, Grapes, Cherries, and Raspberries may exacerbate rosacea symptoms. This is because they may contain pesticides, heavy metals, or other environmental toxins that can trigger inflammation and worsen rosacea.” (Brave AI summary)
Pumpkin Seed 2S Albumin
Pumpkin 2S albumin is a multifunctional protein found in pumpkin seeds (Cucurbita sp.). It has been purified and characterized for its ribonuclease (RNase) activity, exhibiting potent hydrolytic activity towards various RNA substrates, including baker’s yeast RNA and calf liver RNA.
Properties and Functions
The protein is highly stable, retaining its alpha-helical structure up to 90°C.
It has been shown to possess RNA hydrolytic activity, making it distinct from other 2S albumin family members.
Additionally, pumpkin 2S albumin has been reported to possess translational-inhibitory activity.
Some studies suggest it may have antimicrobial and serine proteinase inhibitory activities as well.
Potential Applications
The novel properties of pumpkin 2S albumin make it a promising candidate for biotechnological applications, such as biocatalysis, biomedicine, and agriculture.
Its RNase activity could be exploited for RNA-based therapies or diagnostics.
Further research is needed to fully elucidate its functions and potential uses.
Note: The information provided is based on the available search results and does not include any external sources or references.
Follow up
(Fang, et al., 2010) Fang EF, Wong JH, Lin P, Ng TB. Biochemical characterization of the RNA-hydrolytic activity of a pumpkin 2S albumin. FEBS Lett. 2010 Sep 24;584(18):4089-96. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2010.08.041. Epub 2010 Sep 4. PMID: 20816960. https://febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1016/j.febslet.2010.08.041 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, Biochemical characterization of the RNA-hydrolytic activity of a pumpkin 2S albumin - PubMed
Tomar PP, Nikhil K, Singh A, Selvakumar P, Roy P, Sharma AK. Characterization of anticancer, DNase and antifungal activity of pumpkin 2S albumin. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2014 Jun 13;448(4):349-54. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2014.04.158. Epub 2014 May 9. PMID: 24814706. sciencedirect.com, Characterization of anticancer, DNase and antifungal activity of pumpkin 2S albumin - ScienceDirect
Reference List
(Ahn, et al., 2009) Ahn K, Bardina L, Grishina G, Beyer K, Sampson HA. Identification of two pistachio allergens, Pis v 1 and Pis v 2, belonging to the 2S albumin and 11S globulin family. Clin Exp Allergy. 2009 Jun;39(6):926-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2009.03259.x. PMID: 19522997. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19522997/
(Bueno-Díaz, et al., 2022) Bueno-Díaz C, Biserni C, Martín-Pedraza L, de Las Heras M, Blanco C, Vázquez-Cortés S, Fernández-Rivas M, Batanero E, Cuesta-Herranz J, Villalba M. Association Between the Seed Storage Proteins 2S Albumin and 11S Globulin and Severe Allergic Reaction After Flaxseed Intake. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2022 Oct 11;32(5):375-382. doi: 10.18176/jiaci.0713. Epub 2021 Jun 4. PMID: 34085936. https://www.jiaci.org/summary/vol32-issue5-num2572
(Cárdenas-Torres, et al., 2019) Cárdenas-Torres FI, Reyes-Moreno C, Vergara-Jiménez MdJ, Cuevas-Rodríguez EO, Milán-Carrillo J, Gutiérrez-Dorado R, Arámburo-Gálvez JG, Ontiveros N, Cabrera-Chávez F. Assessing the Sensitizing and Allergenic Potential of the Albumin and Globulin Fractions from Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) Grains before and after an Extrusion Process. Medicina. 2019; 55(3):72. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55030072 https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/55/3/72
(Dreskin, et al., 2021) Dreskin, S.C., Koppelman, S.J., Andorf, S., Nadeau, K.C., Kalra, A., Braun, W., Negi, S.S., Chen, X., Schein, C.H., The importance of the 2S albumins for allergenicity and cross-reactivity of peanuts, tree nuts, and sesame seeds, J of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Vol 147:4, 2021, pp 1154-1163, ISSN 0091-6749, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2020.11.004. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009167492031589X
(Moreno, et al., 2005) Moreno FJ, Mellon FA, Wickham MS, Bottrill AR, Mills EN. Stability of the major allergen Brazil nut 2S albumin (Ber e 1) to physiologically relevant in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. FEBS J. 2005 Jan;272(2):341-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2004.04472.x. PMID: 15654873. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15654873/
(Radovic, et al., 1999) Radovic RS, Maksimovic RV, Brkljacic MJ, Varkonji Gasic IE, Savic PA. 2S albumin from buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum moench) seeds. J Agric Food Chem. 1999 Apr;47(4):1467-70. doi: 10.1021/jf980778s. PMID: 10564000. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10564000/
(Shewry and Pandya, 1999) Shewry, P.R., Pandya, M.J. (1999). The 2S Albumin Storage Proteins. In: Shewry, P.R., Casey, R. (eds) Seed Proteins. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4431-5_24
Soybean, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean
(Vasamathi, 2018) Vasumathi, R.. Peanuts: A Common Migraine Trigger. TNOA Journal of Ophthalmic Science and Research 56(3):p 206, Jul–Sep 2018. | DOI: 10.4103/tjosr.tjosr_73_18 https://journals.lww.com/tnoa/fulltext/2018/56030/peanuts__a_common_migraine_trigger.21.aspx
https://open.substack.com/pub/yanpan0508/p/my-ultimate-birthday-wish-a-self?r=ad7en&utm_medium=ios