Induction of a transient reaginic antibody to tartrazine in an animal model.

The capacity of tartrazine to initiate reaginic antibody production was investigated in inbred rats. Parenteral administration of tartrazine, when covalently linked to a protein carrier and presented in association with carrageenan, resulted in the production of a transient tartrazine-specific reaginic antibody. This response could be enhanced by a secondary challenge, but declined rapidly and thereafter could not be re-elicited.