title: Clinico-immunochemical studies on airborne Areca catechu L. Pollen, a probable risk factor in emergency asthma hospitalization from Eastern India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The pollen grain of the Areca catechu L. tree is airborne and allergenic. This study aimed to know the role of this pollen as a source of aeroallergen with effect on emergency asthma hospitalization, to isolate its important allergic fraction and to check its cross-reaction with betel nut.
  
  
  METHODS
  Areca pollen was monitored with a Burkard sampler. Determination of allergenic activities was studied by in vivo and in vitro analyses. Asthma hospitalization data were collected from two nearby hospitals. The pollen extract was fractionated by a combination of DEAE-Sephadex and Sephacryl S-200 column. The protein components were observed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Cross-reactivity of Areca pollen and betel nut was shown by IgE enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) inhibition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Areca pollen was perennially airborne. Skin test results of respiratory allergic patients showed 38.6% positivity. The detected aeroallergen spots in particle immunoblotting correlated significantly with airborne pollen count. Areca pollen showed a significant positive correlation with asthma hospitalization. There are 6 IgE-reactive protein components in the whole-pollen extract. IgE-reactive fraction 1 was resolved into 4 subfractions. Subfraction 1a showing IgE reactivity contained 3 protein components, among which 2 of 48 and 118 kDa were IgE reactive. The 48-kDa component was reported to be cross-reactive with other palm pollen types. In IgE ELISA inhibition, the betel nut extract showed 50% inhibition with about 110 ng/ml concentration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A. catechu pollen is a significant contributor to the aeroallergen load in India. Its partially purified IgE-reactive fraction may be useful in therapeutics. The betel nut extract showed remarkable cross-reactivity with Areca pollen.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Sree Chaitanya College, Habra, India.
authors.forename: Pampa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
authors.forename: Jyotshna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mandal
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.forename: Indrani
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.forename: Swati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta-Bhattacharya
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D052179:Antigens, Plant / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001114:Areca / Q000276:immunology*; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D002458:Cell Fractionation; D003429:Cross Reactions / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011058:Pollen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D012882:Skin Tests; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D007073:Immunoglobulin E