Sesame seeds are from a plant in the Pedaliaceae family of plants. Other plants in this family are flowers.

There are seven allergens associated with sesame allergy.

2 are 2S seed storage proteins, 1 is a 7S seed storage protein and 2 are 11S seed storage proteins. Seed storage proteins are generally linked to tree nut, peanut and seed allergies.

The last two allergens are oleosin proteins, which are found in parts of plants with a high oil content.

Many allergenic proteins are broken down with heat and processing, this is not the case with seed storage proteins or oleosins, so sesame oil which is made from ground and processed sesame seeds still has the potential to cause allergic reactions.

Sesame seeds and peanuts contain many of the same allergenic proteins, so cross reactivity is a possibility.

Sesame is a low FODMAP food. FODMAP stands for Fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. Foods high in FODMAPs can cause symptoms of food intolerance, affecting the gastro intestinal system and this can be mistaken for a true IgE food allergy.

Sesame seeds are low in salicylates, these have the potential to cause gastrointestinal food intolerance symptoms in people who are sensitive to salicylates.

Although it is a seed and these are usually considered to contain lectins, sesame is actually low in them. Lectins are another cause of food intolerance.

You can read more about Food Intolerances on the dedicated Food Intolerance Page.

Sesame allergy is not currently linked to any allergic syndromes.

Other food containing 2S albumin seed storage proteins are cashews, peanuts, almonds, mustard seed, rapeseed, turnip, chickpeas, hazelnuts, pistachio, buckwheat, soya beans, sunflower seeds, brazil nuts, kiwi, castor beans and walnuts.

There is a lot of cross reactivity between 2S and 11S seed storage proteins, the only other food containing 11S proteins not mentioned above is pumpkin.

Other foods containing vicilin-like (7S seed storage) proteins not mentioned in the list above are lupin, lentils, macadamia nuts, peas and mung bean.

Oleosin proteins are also found in peanuts, quinoa, palm oil, buckwheat and hazelnuts and are already mentioned as cross reacting with other proteins found in sesame.

You can download a Sesame Seed Allergy Factsheet from the Allergy Resources Ko-fi Shop for just $0.50 (£0.40 or €0.45). This has up to date information on which foods contain linked allergens and what foods to avoid if you think you have an allergy to sesame seeds.

Note that these food lists are not exhaustive, the most up to date information is on the Cross Reactivity Tool.

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