Food allergies among children have increased 18% since 1997, and in 2007, some 3 million U.S. "We can reverse the peanut allergic reaction," said lead researcher Dr. "This formula may be effective for human peanut allergy." The report was published in the February online edition of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

For the study, Li's team tested their new herbal remedy, called Food Allergy Herbal Formula (FAHF-2), on mice allergic to peanuts. In addition, protection from allergic reactions to peanuts persisted for almost nine months after treatment was stopped, Li said. They found that the formula protected mice from allergic reactions from peanuts. Li's team has also shown the formula protects mice against. "The herbal formula can stop peanut allergy and produce a prolonged protection," she said. Food allergies are potentially life-threatening for children and adults.

This is one-quarter of the mouse life span, Li noted. Currently, there is no treatment for the allergies, so avoidance is the only protection. Xiu-Min Li, director of the Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy for Allergy and Asthma at Mount Sinai.

Children had food allergies, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

In fact, FAHF-2 protected the animals from anaphylaxis for more than 36 weeks after treatment was stopped.