Allergic reactions/alstros

Roy M. Sachs rmsachs@ucdavis.edu
Fri, 23 Jan 2004 13:22:42 PST
>Most postings on this topic seem to assume that the putative allergens are
>coming from the Alstroemeria. I know absolutely nothing about the
>commercial production of Alstroemeria for cut flowers. But as valuable as
>that crop is, I'll bet they are sprayed with something somewhere along the
>line. Maybe that something (or those somethings) is the source of the
>allergens.
>
>Jim McKenney
>jimmckenney@starpower.net
>Montgomery County, Maryland zone 7 where the one Alstroemeria long
>established in the garden has never bitten me

Jim:  I've been to producers of alstroemeria and to florists who buy 
them from me...no treatments at all (other than putting them in vase 
life solutions. Not all the handlers wore latex gloves...most did not.

So I think there is something inherently toxic in the alstros (it's 
in the literature, too); immunity to that something varies from nil 
(or acquired) to complete among those who work with them all 
year-round.

Jane McGary's resistance to the toxin in some of the sumacs is 
perhaps a good indicator to whether one is going to be sensitive to 
the compound(s) in alstros. I'm no longer as sensitive to poison oak 
as I was before working with alstros (although I don't test my 
immunity to poison oak too often).

Roy


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