Figure 1
From: Anaphylactic Reactions to Oligosaccharides in Red Meat: a Syndrome in Evolution
Structure of galactose-alpha 1,3-galactose (alpha-gal). Alpha-gal is an oligosaccharide found in mammalian cells of non-primates [49, 50]. The alpha-gal epitope is present in beef, pork, lamb [14, 47–49], and cat dander [54, 55], and absent in chicken and fish [49]. Beta-galactosyl alpha 1,3 galactosyl transferase, the enzyme needed for formation of alpha-gal, is inactivated in humans and higher mammals [49, 56].