Oral provocation of patients allergic to sesquiterpene lactones with German chamomile tea to demonstrate possible systemic allergic dermatitis.

BACKGROUND

Most patients with contact allergy to Asteraceae plants are patch test positive to sesquiterpene lactone mix (SLM). There are several reports among these patients of a flare-up of hand eczema after ingestion of food and beverages originating from Asteraceae plants.

AIM: To investigate whether German chamomile tea can elicit systemic allergic dermatitis.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

Individuals with or without contact allergy to SLM were patch tested with an extract of German chamomile tea. Six weeks later, they were provoked with capsules containing either freeze-dried German chamomile tea or placebo capsules containing lactose, in a double-blind, randomized study. A numerical rating scale (NRS) was used to ascertain the volunteers' opinion of their hand eczema status. The study individuals were examined to detect a possible flare-up of healed patch test reactions to chamomile.

RESULTS

None of the subjects had a flare-up of healed patch test reactions. According to the NRS, SLM-positive individuals experienced a significant worsening of hand eczema, independently of whether they received chamomile or lactose capsules.

CONCLUSION

No evidence suggestive of systemic allergic dermatitis was found.