Allergic contact dermatitis to tulips: an example of enantiospecificity.

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), an immunological reaction of the skin resulting from contact with reactive compounds occurring in plants was shown to the enantiospecific (animals sensitized to a compound do not react to its nonsuperimposable mirror image). Thus, when guinea pigs were experimentally sensitized to (+)-tulipalin B (a compound present in tulip bulbs) they did not react to its enantiomer, (-)-tulipalin B. This was also true for (+)- and (-)-beta-hydroxy-gamma-methyl-alpha-methylene-gamma-butyrolactones.