Those suffering from food allergy might soon be able to safely dig into the sumptuous tiger prawn that earlier made their face bloat up and their throat itch or even cherish a pack of crunchy honey dipped peanut by the lake that till now caused skin rashes and stomach cramps.

In a breakthrough, scientists believe they have for the first time found a potential cure for patients suffering from food allergy. New research, published on Monday by the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, claims that the introduction of a molecule usually absent during allergic responses could bring them back under control, offering a potential target for therapy.

Scientists led by Dr Claudio Nicoletti at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich have found that a molecule called Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is absent during allergic responses. Dr Nicoletti suggests that by delivering an allergen in the presence of IL-12, allergic reactions could be brought back under control. At present, there are no recognised treatments for food allergies, with sufferers instead forced to avoid certain foods at all times.

"A food protein can be perfectly harmless to one person and lethal to another," said Dr Nicoletti. "We have identified the missing molecule that normally keeps immune responses under control. "A food allergy is an immune system response to food that the body mistakenly believes is harmful. The immune system produces immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies, which normally help the body fight parasites.

In the most severe cases, individuals can suffer life-threatening reactions, including anaphylactic shock. There are eight foods that account for 90 per cent of all food-allergic reactions which are milk, egg, peanut, tree nut (walnut and cashew), fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. Over 3 per cent of India's population suffers from serious food allergies, worst affected by blackgram, rice and bananas. Roughly half of these individuals are allergic to one or more of the eight most common food allergeis. Others are allergic to some type of fruit or vegetable, chocolate or a food additive.

Indian allergy specialist Dr Naveen Arora from the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, however, told TOI that it was highly unlikely a single molecule could stop an allergy. "Finding a treatment for food allergy would be great as it affects a huge number of people globally and places an extremely heavy burden on the families affected.

At present, through laboratory tests on mice, scientists are claiming that Il-12 could help alleviate allergic reactions to food. But molecules are just one factor that cause allergies with the proteins in the food also playing a major role. IL-12 plays different roles in the body. Delivered it may cause other systems to malfunction," he said.