CANBERRA – Boiled peanuts could help children overcome nut allergies, an Australian study has found.

Researchers from Flinders University recently published the results of a trial in which 70 children aged between six and 18 with allergies to legumes were given increasing doses of boiled peanuts over the course of 52 weeks.

According to the study, through the oral immunotherapy, 80 per cent of the participants were able to eat peanuts without an allergic response.

The participants were given daily doses of peanuts that had been boiled for 12 hours for 12 weeks, two-hour boiled peanuts for 20 weeks and roasted peanuts for 20 weeks.

By the end of the trial, 56 of the 70 children were able to eat 12 roasted peanuts daily without adverse reactions.

“Our clinical trial shows promising early signs in demonstrating that boiling peanuts may provide a safe and effective method for treating peanut allergic children with sequential doses of boiled and roasted peanuts over an extended period of time,” Associate Professor Luke Grzeskowiak, lead author of the study, said in a media release on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, oral immunotherapy doesn’t work for everyone, and we are in the process of improving our understanding of how these treatments work and what factors can influence how people respond to treatment. This will be really important for assessing individual suitability for treatment and improve treatment decisions in the future.”

The trial was built on previous research showing that heat affects the protein structure and allergic properties of peanuts, meaning they were less likely to cause a severe allergic reaction.

Peanuts are one of the most common food allergens in the world, with approximately 3 per cent of children in Western countries affected, according to Dr Grzeskowiak.

The researchers warned that larger clinical trials are required before oral immunotherapy for peanut allergies can be widely recommended. XINHUA