Comparative antigenicity and potency of allergenic extracts from pollen and anthers

Two hundred and twenty-six patients were scratch tested over a 10-month period with the pollen and anthers of six common hay fever plants. The results indicate that anthers and anther parts as "contaminant" material in pollen used in the manufacture of allergenic pollen products should be re-evaluated; it may be inappropriate to classify such parts as "foreign materials." They may be more fully utilized in the harvesting, extraction and administration of antigenic products for hyposensitization treatment, particularly for those hay fever producing plants where collection of pure pollen is particularly difficult.