[Juniperus ashei: the gold standard of the Cuppressaceae]

The non-standardized Cupressus sempervirens allergen extract currently available for the diagnosis of cypress allergy has a low level of activity. The search for an active material consisted of in vitro and in vivo comparison of three Cupressaceae pollen extracts: Cupressus sempervirens (Cs), Cupressus arizonica (Ca) and Juniperus ashei (Ja) (synonyms: Juniperus sabinoides and Mountain Cedar). These 3 trees belong to the same botanical family of Cupressaceae. While Cs and Ca are commonly encountered in Mediterranean regions, Ja is only present in Europe in the Balkans, but is a major cause of allergy in the USA. In vitro, with a similar protein content, the allergenic properties of Ja extract are 20-Fold higher than those of Cs and 11-fold higher than those of Ca. IgE immunoblotting revealed 14, 42 and 70 kDa allergens common to all 3 extracts. The inhibition curves of the 3 extracts were more than 88% parallel. A significant correlation was observed between serum specific IgE titres for Ja and Cs in 23 patients (r = 0.916; p < 0.001). In vivo, in 23 patients with cypress allergy, the mean diameter of the prick test papule at 1/20 W/V of Ja (8.3 mm) was greater than that of the Cs papule (6.3 mm) (p = 0.001) and the Ca papule (6.7 mm) (p < 0.001). Correlations between cutaneous responses to Cs and Ja (r = 0.629; p = 0.002), and to Cs and Ca (r = 0.75; p = 0.001) were significant. These results demonstrate the intense cross-reactivity between Cs, Ca and Ja. The allergenic potency of the Ja extract is superior to that of Cs and Ca extracts, both in vitro and in vivo. This superiority is correlated with a high concentration of the major allergen, Jun a 1. The non-standardized The now standardized extract of in vitro ashei pollen therefore represents an effective and documented solution for identification, and probably for treatment, of Cupressaceae pollen allergy.