Antacid medication inhibits digestion of dietary proteins and causes food allergy: A fish allergy model in balb/c mice

Abstract Background Digestible proteins were supposed to be irrelevant for oral sensitization and induction of food allergy. Approximately 10% of the adult population uses antacids for the treatment of dyspeptic disorders, drugs that hinder peptic digestion. In these patients, proteins that are normally degradable might act as food allergens. Objective We aimed to study the influence of antacid intake on the allergenicity of dietary proteins, taking sturgeon caviar and parvalbumin, the major fish allergen, as examples. Methods Caviar proteins and recombinant parvalbumin from carp, rCyp c 1, were applied for intragastric feedings with or without the antacids sucralfate, ranitidine or omeprazole, using a Balb/c mouse model. Results Both caviar proteins and parvalbumin were rapidly degraded in an in vitro digestion assay at pH 2.0, but not at pH 5.0, imitating the effect of antacids. The groups fed with caviar in combination with ranitidine hydrochloride intramuscularly or sucralfate orally had significant levels of caviar-specific IgE antibodies ( P P Conclusions When antacid medication impairs the gastric digestion, IgE synthesis toward novel dietary proteins is promoted, leading to food allergy.