Food allergy to Shiitake(Lentinus edodes) manifested as oesophageal symptoms in a patient with probable eosinophilic oesophagitis

Shiitake fungi (Lentinus edodes) from China, is the second most  commonly produced edible mushroom in the world.Its consumption is spreading in the Eastern world and therefore adverse effects are being reported regarding production and intake.

The most frequentre action related to Shiitake is an itching toxicoderma similar to eczema that appears in scratching areas related to raworlightly cooked Shiitake intake. In some patients, skin prick and/or patchtests were positive for Shiitake, however, not in everyc ases, and controls also showed similar results. Thus this dermatitis seems to be a toxic, non allergic disease. Clinical manifestation related to hypersensitivity to Shiitake has been reported related mainly as an occupational disease. Thus, allergic contact dermatitis, contact urticaria, asthma, rhinitis and conjunctivitis, and many cases of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (mushroomworkers’lung), have been reported in workers involved with Shiitake cultivation and marketing.

However, to our knowledge, no foodallergy to Shiitake with gastrointestinal symptoms has been reported. Thus, we describe a case of an atopic patient with allergy to Shiitake mushroom showing o esophageal symptoms.

CITA DEL ARTÍCULO  Allergol Immunopathol (Madr). 2009 Nov-Dec;37(6):333-4