Wild Buckwheat Is Unlikely to Pose a Risk to Buckwheat‐Allergic Individuals

  Buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum ) is a commonly allergenic food especially in Asia where buckwheat is more commonly consumed. Wild buckwheat ( Polygonum convolvulus , recently changed to Fallopia convolvulus ) is an annual weed prevalent in grain‐growing areas of the United States. Wild buckwheat is not closely related to edible buckwheat although the seeds do have some physical resemblance. A large shipment of wheat into Japan was halted by the discovery of the adventitious presence of wild buckwheat seeds over possible concerns for buckwheat‐allergic consumers. However, IgE‐binding was not observed to an extract of wild buckwheat using sera from 3 buckwheat‐allergic individuals either by radio‐allergosorbent test inhibition or by immunoblotting after protein separation by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Furthermore, the extract of wild buckwheat was not detected in a buckwheat enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay developed with antisera against common buckwheat. Thus, wild buckwheat is highly unlikely to pose any risk to buckwheat‐allergic individuals. The common names of plants should not be a factor in the risk assessment for possible cross‐allergenicity.