Stereospecificity of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) to enantiomers. Part III. experimentally induced ACD to a natural sesquiterpene dialdehyde, polygodial in guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs were sensitized to polygodial 1, a natural sesquiterpene dialdehyde, using intradermal injections in Freund's complete adjuvant. Cross-reactions with a (+/-)-mixture of warburganal and (-)-warburganal 2 (a natural hydroxylated derivative of polygodial) showed a high specificity of the allergic response since the (-)-pseudoenantiomer (having the same configuration as the primary sensitizer) gave a stronger skin reaction than the racemic mixture.