Occupational contact dermatitis due to croton (Codiaeum variegatum (L.) A. Juss var. pictum (Lodd.) Muell. Arg.). Sensitization by plants of the Euphorbiaceae.

One of today's most decorative and popular ornamental potted plants is Croton. Handling this plant over a period of 6 months produced contact eczema of the hands in a nursery gardener. Patch tests with Croton leaves were positive. Control tests remained negative. Sensitization experiments in guinea pigs with a methanolic extract of the leaves were successful. All results of the study indicate that: -latex of croton produces no primary irritant reaction -latex is able to induce a real contact allergy -contact allergens are constituents of the milky sap. Whether the di- and triesters of phorbol so far isolated as irritant and cocarcinogenic factors from the latex of various Euphorbiaceae species and sensitizers shall be investigated in further experiments.