A trial held at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge involved four children being fed daily doses of peanut flour. Starting with a 5 milligram serving, the amount was slowly increased over six months to 800 milligrams - the equivalent of five whole peanuts.
Previous desensitisation programmes via injections in the 1990s proved unsuccessful. It is thought this trial worked because of the gentle oral doses.
The results were published in the journal Allergy last week.
Dr Andy Clark, leader of the research, said, 'Every time people with a peanut allergy eat something, they're frightened that it might kill them. Our motivation was to find a treatment that would change that and give them the confidence to eat what they like. It's all about quality of life.
'Peanut allergy is common - it affects one in 50 young people in the UK - and unlike other childhood food allergies like cow's milk, it rarely goes away. It's not a permanent cure, but as long as they go on taking the daily dose they should maintain their tolerance,' said Dr Clark.
There are now a further 18 children aged seven to 17 following the programme, and the researchers are confident that it could be extended to adults.
Nine-year-old participant Michael Frost is planning to go to a Chinese restaurant for the first time next month to celebrate his birthday.
His mother Kate said, 'It's very hard to describe how much of a difference it's made - not just to Michael's life, but for all of us. When he goes out, we lose control of what he eats - and for so many years, I've had a permanent knot of anxiety in my stomach. Suddenly, those feelings have gone.'
