Table of Contents

Whole Allergen

f182 Lima bean

f182 Lima bean Scientific Information

Type:

Whole Allergen

Display Name:

Lima bean

Allergen code:

f182

Family:

Fabaceae/Leguminoacea

Species:

Phaseolus lunatus, Phaseolus inamoenus, Phaseolus limensis, Phaseolus lunatus var. lunonanus, Phaseolus tunkinensis, Phaseolus viridis

Route of Exposure:

Ingestion

Latin Name:

Phaseolus lunatus

Other Names:

Butter bean, sieva bean, double bean, Madagascar bean, chad bean, or wax bean

Summary

Lima beans are a type of legume eaten across the world; reports of lima bean allergy are relatively rare with limited information. Studies show that clinical reactions to lima bean typically correlate with cross-reactivity to several other legumes, including soya, peanut, black gram, and mesquite tree pollen.

Allergen

Nature

Lima beans, along with other beans within the genus Phaseolus (kidney, garden, butter, snap sugar, string, navy, pinto and white beans), are classified within the Leguminoacea family (1) and are eaten across the world (2).

Taxonomic tree of Lima bean {CABI, 2019}
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Plantae
Phylum	Spermatophyta
Subphylum	Angiospermae
Class	Dicotyledonae
Order	Fabales
Family	Fabaceae
Genus	Phaseolus
Species	Phaseolus lunatus

Route of Exposure

Main

Lima beans are ingested as food across the world (2).

Clinical Relevance

Reports of lima bean allergy are relatively limited. Studies show that clinical reactions to one legume typically correlate with cross-reactivity to several other legumes. Based on this idea, mesquite tree pollen sensitized patients also showed cross-reactivity to lima bean (2).

In a study of patients with legume hypersensitivity in the USA, 87% had positive skin prick tests to peanut (60 of 69 patients), whereas 41% were positive to lima bean (13 of 32 patients). However, none of the patients had positive oral food challenges with lima bean (4).

Asthma

Two studies have investigated sensitization to lima beans in asthmatic patients. In one study of 470 asthma and rhinitis patients in Delhi, India, 3.4% had positive skin prick tests (2). In another study of 216 bronchial asthmatic patients, 5–6% had positive skin prick tests to lima bean, defined as a wheal of ≥3 mm (5).

Prevention and Therapy

Avoidance

Despite the potential for cross-reactivity, clinical hypersensitivity to one legume does not warrant dietary elimination of all legumes. Oral food challenges have shown clinically important cross-reactivity to legumes is rare, and due to the lack of clinical relevance, skin prick test results should not be used to determine prolonged food restriction diets (5)

Molecular Aspects

Allergenic molecules

One report identified 23 potentially allergenic proteins isolated from lima beans (6).

Cross-reactivity

Studies show that clinical reactions to one legume typically correlate with cross-reactivity to several other legumes such as soya, peanut, black gram (2). Studies have identified cross reactivity between lima bean and mesquite, including mesquite tree pollen.

In a study of 20 patients with a positive skin prick test to mesquite (Prosopis juliflora), none demonstrated skin-prick positivity to lima bean. However, 4 patients were positive for IgE to lima bean measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay suggesting the presence of cross-reactive IgE. This study identified five shared protein allergens between mesquite and lima bean of various sizes: 20, 26, 35, 66 and 72 kDa (2). Another report confirmed cross-reactivity between mesquite tree pollen and lima bean (7).

A 35 kDa vicilin-like major allergen isolated from mesquite showed cross-reactivity to a number of legume proteins including lima bean (8).

Compiled By

Author: RubyDuke Communications

Reviewer: Dr. Michael Thorpe

Last reviewed:January 2022

References

Zacharisen MC, Kurup V. Anaphylaxis to beans. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1998;101(4 Pt 1):556-7.
Dhyani A, Arora N, Jain VK, Sridhara S, Singh BP. Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated cross-reactivity between mesquite pollen proteins and lima bean, an edible legume. Clin Exp Immunol. 2007;149(3):517-24.
Tonini S, Perfetti L, Pignatti P, Pala G, Moscato G. Occupational asthma induced by exposure to lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus). Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2012;108(1):66-7.
Bernhisel-Broadbent J, Sampson HA. Cross-allergenicity in the legume botanical family in children with food hypersensitivity. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1989;83(2 Pt 1):435-40.
Kumar R, Singh BP, Srivastava P, Sridhara S, Arora N, Gaur SN. Relevance of serum IgE estimation in allergic bronchial asthma with special reference to food allergy. Asian Pacific journal of allergy and immunology. 2006;24(4):191-9.
Bernhisel-Broadbent J, Taylor S, Sampson HA. Cross-allergenicity in the legume botanical family in children with food hypersensitivity. II. Laboratory correlates. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1989;84(5 Pt 1):701-9.
Verma AK, Kumar S, Das M, Dwivedi PD. A comprehensive review of legume allergy. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 2013;45(1):30-46.
Arora B, Sharma S, Gaur SN, Jain VK, Lavasa S, Arora N. Identification of a vicilin-like major allergen from Prosopis juliflora exhibiting cross- reactivity with legume food allergens. Mol Immunol. 2021;137:84-93