Usefulness of manufactured tomato extracts in the diagnosis of tomato sensitization: Comparison with the prick-prick method

Abstract

BackgroundCommercial available skin prick test with fruits can be negative in sensitized or allergic patients due to a reduction in biological activity during the manufacturing process. Prick-prick tests with fresh foods are often preferred, but they are a non-standardized procedure. The usefulness of freeze-dried extracts of Canary Islands tomatoes, comparing the wheal sizes induced by prick test with the prick-prick method in the diagnosis of tomato sensitization has been analyzed.The objective of the study was to assess the potential diagnostic of freeze-dried extracts of Canary Islands tomatoes, comparing the wheal sizes induced by prick test with the prick-prick method.MethodsTwo groups of patients were analyzed: Group I: 26 individuals reporting clinical symptoms induced by tomato contact or ingestion. Group II: 71 control individuals with no symptoms induced by tomato: 12 of them were previously skin prick test positive to a tomato extract, 39 were atopic and 20 were non-atopic. All individuals underwent prick-prick with fresh ripe peel Canary tomatoes and skin prick tested with freeze-dried peel and pulp extracts obtained from peel and pulp of Canary tomatoes at 10 mg/ml. Wheal sizes and prick test positivity (≥ 7 mm2) were compared between groups.ResultsIn group I, 21 (81%) out of 26 patients were prick-prick positive. Twenty patients (77%) had positive skin prick test to peel extracts and 12 (46%) to pulp extracts. Prick-prick induced a mean wheal size of 43.81 ± 40.19 mm2 compared with 44.25 ± 36.68 mm2 induced by the peel extract (Not significant), and 17.79 ± 9.39 mm2 induced by the pulp extract (p < 0.01).In group II, 13 (18%) out of 71 control patients were prick-prick positive. Twelve patients (all of them previously positive to peel extract) had positive skin prick test to peel and 3 to pulp. Prick-prick induced a mean wheal size of 28.88 ± 13.12 mm2 compared with 33.17 ± 17.55 mm2 induced by peel extract (Not significant), and 13.33 ± 4.80 mm2 induced by pulp extract (p < 0.05 with peel extract and prick-prick).ConclusionCanary peel tomato extract seems to be as efficient as prick-prick tests with ripe tomatoes to diagnose patients sensitized to tomato. The wheal sizes induced by prick-prick and peel extracts were very similar and showed a high correlation coefficient.

Clinico-Immunological Analysis of Eggplant (Solanum melongena) Allergy Indicates Preponderance of Allergens in the Peel

“…A similar trend was noticed in the case of SPTs with peel and pulp extracts of Rosaceae fruits, figs, and tomato [34-37]. Unlike in the case of tomato,[36] prick-by-prick method of skin testing was less effective in the case of eggplant probably because of a less watery nature and somewhat leathery surface of the eggplant fruit. Prick-by-prick method seems to be the effective in the case of fruits and those vegetables with a liquid nature.…”

Immunopathological features of air pollution and its impact on inflammatory airway diseases (IAD)

“… 26 Formaldehyde appears to be associated with a higher risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma 27 and leukemia. 28 The primary domestic, 29 , 30 , 31 microbial, 32 and socio-cultural sources of VOCs 33 , 34 are well elaborated.…”

Oral Allergy Syndrome

“…Очевидным достоинством методики является отсутствие по-требности в стандартизованных коммерческих аллергенных препаратах, зачастую недоступ-ных. При этом прик-прик не уступает в своей диагностической информативности стандарт-ным прик-тестам по параметрам чувствительно-сти и специфичности [25] (табл. 2).…”