Yellow dock
Clinical Relevance
IgE-mediated reactions
Anecdotal evidence suggests that asthma, allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis are common following exposure to pollen from Yellow dock; however, few specific studies have been reported to date.
In a study examining aeroallergen sensitization rates in military children in Texas with rhinitis, of 209 patients, 17% were sensitised to Yellow Dock or Sorrel.
In an aeroallergen study in Bitlis, Turkey, Rumex spp. was one of the pollens responsible for the greatest amounts of pollens. Pollen from Rumex spp. has also been reported in aerobiological studies in Lublin, Eastern Poland, in Dehra Dun, in India, and evaluated in a number of European communities (London, Leiden, Brussels, Munich and Marseilles). Rumex was also reported to be one of 22 types of pollen found in the air of Athens, Greece, mostly during the March-July period.
Cross-Reactivity
Cross-reactivity could be expected between species of the family Polygonaceae. Similar allergenic components of Ragweed pollen have been detected in Yellow dock pollen. In a preliminary study, sera of two patients with IgE antibodies to Ragweed pollen antigens also reacted to a similar 40 kDa component in Yellow dock pollen. Of 109 patients with asthma, of 22 patients who were sensitized to a crude extract of Ragweed pollen, 18 (81.8%) also reacted to the crude extract of Yellow dock pollen.
References
- Calabria CW, Dice J. Aeroallergen sensitization rates in military children with rhinitis symptoms. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2007;99(2):161-9.
- WR S. An appraisal of Rumex pollen as an aeroallergen. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. 1969:44:25-36.
- Celenk S, Bicakci A. Aerobiological investigation in Bitlis, Turkey. Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine : AAEM. 2005;12(1):87-93.
- Weryszko-Chmielewska E, Piotrowska K. Airborne pollen calendar of Lublin, Poland. Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine : AAEM. 2004;11(1):91-7.
- Singh BP, Singh AB, Nair PK, Gangal SV. Survey of airborne pollen and fungal spores at Dehra Dun, India. Annals of allergy. 1987;59(3):229-34.
- Spieksma FT, Charpin H, Nolard N, Stix E. City spore concentrations in the European Economic Community (EEC). IV. Summer weed pollen (Rumex, Plantago, Chenopodiaceae, Artemisia), 1976 and 1977. Clinical allergy. 1980;10(3):319-29.
- Apostolou EK YA. Atmospheric pollen in the area of Athens. Acta Allergol. 1977:32(2):109-17.
- Shen HD CL, Gong YJ, Chang HN, Han SH. A monoclonal antibody against ragweed pollen cross-reacting with yellow dock pollen. 1985