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Respiratory allergic diseases such as bronchial asthma, rhinitis, urticaria, atopic dermatitis have been steadily increasing all over the world, including India. Owing to its alarming trend, several aerobiological surveys have been undertaken in different parts of India to delineate the variety of pollen and spore load. In this review, we have reported the current state of aerobiological knowladge in India with particular reference to allergenic airborn pollen occurence in 2001–2015. Pollen have been found to contribute a significant proportion in the air and caused allergy symptoms in the local inhabitants. Aerobiological records, a questionnaire survey and hospitalization records have been employed for the analysis. <em>Holoptelea integrifolia</em>, <em>Amaranthus spinosus</em> in northern region, <em>Sorghum vulgare</em>, <em>Pennisetum</em>, <em>Gynandropsis gynandra</em>, <em>Parthenium hysterophorus</em>, <em>Dolichandrone platycalyx</em> in southern regions, and <em>Parthenium hysterophorus</em> from the western region; <em>Cynodon dactylon</em>, <em>Cenchrus ciliaris</em> in the central area; <em>Acacia auriculiformis</em>, <em>Cleome gynandra</em>, <em>Catharanthus roseus</em>, <em>Phoenix sylvestris</em>, <em>Areca catechu</em>, and <em>Lantana camara</em> in the eastern regions as potential aeroallergens in India. The statistical approach confirmed the correlation between hospitalization rate associated with allergy-related health troubles and the prevalent allergenic pollen in the air. The Poaceae group has been found to be dominant throughout India. Immuno-biochemical studies identified various protein with allergenic potential found in the pollen recorded. Epitope identification and homology of the major allergenic protein Cat r1 of <em>Catharanthus</em> sp and Par j 1 of <em>Parietaria judaica</em> have been found. Identification of allergenic pollen grains and the modern approach concerning cross-reactivity and epitope revelation of dominant airborne pollen have important clinical implications for the prevention, diagnosis and treatments of allergic diseases in India.

BackgroundThe incidence of allergic diseases is increasing gradually and is a global burden affecting the socio-economic quality of life. Identification of allergens is the first step towards paving the way for therapeutic interventions against atopic diseases. Our previous investigation figured out that total pollen load correlated significantly with the rise of respiratory allergy in a subtropical city in India. The most dominant pollen responsible for IgE sensitivity in most patients emerged to be from Lantana camara (LC) an obnoxious weed growing in and around suburban areas of West Bengal. In this study, we identified allergenic components from this shrub using an immunoproteomic approach.MethodsDetermination of dominant pollen species was done using aerobiological sampling during two consecutive years and correlated with hospitalization and skin prick test. Serum was collected from LC positive patients and checked for in vitro allergenicity using ELISA and Histamine assay. Total proteome was profiled in SDS–PAGE, 2D PAGE and immunoblotted to detect IgE binding proteins which were further identified using mass spectrometry.ResultsLantana camara pollen emerged as a significant contributor from the correlation study with hospital admission of the respiratory allergy sufferers and its extract demonstrated an elevated IgE response in ELISA and histamine release assay tests. Five IgE reactive bands/zones were observed in 1D blot which resolved to 12 allergo-reactive spots in the 2D blot. Mass spectrometric analysis identified nine spots that grouped into four diverse proteins. Pathogenesis-related Thaumatin-like protein was found to be one of the major allergens in Lantana camara.ConclusionsThis is to our knowledge the first attempt to identify allergens from Lantana camara using a proteomic approach. The allergens identified thereof can be used to prepare hypoallergenic vaccine candidates and design immunotherapy trials against LC pollen and other aeroallergen carriers which are cross-reactive and harbor similar proteins.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13223-016-0135-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.