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Buckwheat allergy is considered a rare food allergy outside of Asia. In Europe, buckwheat has been described mainly as a hidden allergen. Data on the prevalence of buckwheat hypersensitivity in non-Asian countries is very poor. The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the prevalence of buckwheat sensitization and its association with other sensitizations among patients referred to allergy clinics in different geographic areas of Italy. All patients referred to 18 Italian allergy clinics from February through April 2011 were included in the study and evaluated for sensitization to buckwheat and other allergens depending on their clinical history. A total of 1,954 patients were included in the study and 61.3 percent of them were atopic. Mean prevalence of buckwheat sensitization was 3.6 percent with significant difference between Northern (4.5 percent), Central (2.2 percent) and Southern (2.8 percent) regions. This is, to our knowledge, the largest epidemiological survey on buckwheat allergy reported outside of Asia. Buckwheat is an emerging allergen in Italy, being more frequently associated to sensitization in Northern regions.

Food allergy is a common and increasing problem worldwide. The newly-found knowledge might provide novel experimental strategies, especially for laboratory diagnosis. Approximately 20% of the population alters their diet for a perceived adverse reaction to food, but the application of double-blind placebo-controlled oral food challenge, the “gold standard” for diagnosis of food allergy, shows that questionnaire-based studies overestimate the prevalence of food allergies. The clinical disorders determined by adverse reactions to food can be classified on the basis of immunologic or nonimmunologic mechanisms and the organ system or systems affected. Diagnosis of food allergy is based on clinical history, skin prick tests, and laboratory tests to detect serum-food specific IgE, elimination diets and challenges. The primary therapy for food allergy is to avoid the responsible food. Antihistamines might partially relieve oral allergy syndrome and IgE-mediated skin symptoms, but they do not block systemic reactions. Systemic corticosteroids are generally effective in treating chronic IgE-mediated disorders. Epinephrine is the mainstay of treatment for anaphylaxis. Experimental therapies for IgE-mediated food allergy have been evaluated, such as humanized IgG anti-IgE antibodies and allergen specific immunotherapy.