1. Airborne olive pollen counts are not representative of exposure to the major olive allergen Ole e 1
- Author
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Galán C., Antunes, C.M., Brandao, R. M., Torres, C., Garcia-Mozo, H., Caeiro, E., R. Ferro, Prank, M., Sofiev, M., R. Albertini, U. Berger, L. Cecchi, Celenk, Sevcan, Grewling L., Jackowiak, B., Jäger, S., Kennedy, Roy, A. Rantio-Lehtimäki, G.Reese, I. Sauliene, Smith, M., Thibaudon, M., Weber, B., Weichenmeier, I., Pusch, G., and Buters J.
- Subjects
Hialine project ,olea ,pollen ,otorhinolaryngologic diseases ,food and beverages ,outdoor environment ,Ole e ,aeroallergens - Abstract
Pollen is routinely monitored, but it is unknown whether pollen counts represent allergen exposure. We therefore simultaneously determined olive pollen and Ole e 1 in ambient air in C ordoba, Spain, and Evora, Portugal, using Hirst-type traps for pollen and high-volume cascade impactors for allergen. Pollen from different days released 12-fold different amounts of Ole e 1 per pollen (both locations P < 0.001). Average allergen release from pollen (pollen potency) was much higher in C ordoba (3.9 pg Ole e 1/pollen) than in Evora (0.8 pg Ole e 1/pollen, P = 0.004). Indeed, yearly olive pollen counts in C ordoba were 2.4 times higher than in Evora, but Ole e 1 concentrations were 7.6 times higher. When modeling the origin of the pollen, >40% of Ole e 1 exposure in Evora was explained by high-potency pollen originating from the south of Spain. Thus, olive pollen can vary substantially in allergen release, even though they are morphologically identical.
- Published
- 2013