Abstract:

Objective To investigate food intolerance testing for the treatment and prevention of recurrent aphthous ulcer （RAU）. Methods Serum samples of 410 patients with RAU and 120 healthy subjects （healthy control group）were collected. Serum food-specific immunoglobulin （Ig）G antibodies against 14 foods were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results A total of 350 cases in RAU group（85.37%） were determined food-specific IgG antibodies positive,and the positive rate was higher than that in healthy control group（28.33%,P<0.01）. Furthermore,the positive rate of multiple food intolerance in RAU group was higher than that in healthy control group （P<0.01）. In RAU group,the positive rate and level of egg-specific IgG antibody were the highest. The levels of food-specific IgG antibodies in RAU group were higher than those in healthy control group （P<0.01）. RAU group showed a mild intolerance to beef,shrimp,chicken and pork,and the positive rates of food-specific IgG antibodies against them had no statistical significance between RAU and healthy control groups（P>0.05）,while the levels of food-specific IgG antibodies in RAU group were higher than those in healthy control group （P<0.01）. The food-specific IgG antibody level of IgG positive in RAU group was higher than that of IgG negative in RAU group （P<0.01）,and the food-specific IgG antibody level of IgG negative in RAU group was higher than that in healthy control group （P<0.01）. After a 3-month follow-up of RAU group,a modification of dietary brought an effective relief to ulcer in 258 of 406 cases （63.55%）. Conclusions There is a close relationship between food intolerance and RAU,and the identification of intolerable foods and avoiding consumption of them are of value in clinical treatment and prevention of RAU.

Key words: Specific immunoglobulin G antibody, Food intolerance, Recurrent aphthous ulcer