ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of soybean as an allergenic food, describing the molecular characterization of its allergens and cross-reactions associated with the ingestion of related legume species. Additionally, the application of different types of food processing technologies is referred to, focusing on the reduction of soybean allergenicity, as well as its correlation with digestibility, and genetic modification. Despite the high molecular homology between soybean allergens and other allergenic proteins, their clinical relevance is still to be determined for most of the legume species. Some studies reported that fermentation coupled to enzymatic hydrolysis with alcalase, heat treatment, or the addition of virginiamycin may improve the proteolysis of soybean allergens. The evaluation of the digestibility of soybean allergens after the application of a food processing technology with the aim of reducing allergenicity is also extremely important. The effect of polyamines in the protection from cardiac aging and cardiovascular pathologies has been widely described both in animal and human studies.
