Miura N
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University School of Medicine.
Arerugi. 1993 May;42(5):649-55.
Ramie (Boehmeria nivea), a plant of the Urticaceae family, is widely distributed in the Nagasaki area, and has been established to be a cause of asthma. The rate of positive reactions to ramie in intradermal tests was 11.7% among adult asthmatic patients in the Nagasaki area. In this study, 10 patients were positive in provocation tests using ramie pollen. Ramie pollen-specific IgE antibodies were measured by ELISA, with the positive provocation test group showing higher O.D. values than the positive intradermal test group (p < 0.05). Ramie is of the same family as Parietaria, an important allergen in Europe. The cross-reactivity of ramie and Parietaria was examined by an ELISA inhibition test using P. officinalis and P. judaica (Pj10), but no cross-reactivity was found, suggesting that ramie may be a new independent allergen. As ramie is widely distributed throughout Japan and South-east Asia, further study is needed to determine whether it is an important allergen of the Urticaceae family in this region, as is Parietaria in Europe, and Urtica in America.
苎麻（Boehmeria nivea）是荨麻科植物，广泛分布于长崎地区，已被确认为哮喘的一个病因。在长崎地区的成年哮喘患者中，苎麻皮内试验的阳性反应率为11.7%。在本研究中，10名患者在使用苎麻花粉的激发试验中呈阳性。通过ELISA法检测苎麻花粉特异性IgE抗体，激发试验阳性组的光密度值高于皮内试验阳性组（p < 0.05）。苎麻与欧洲重要变应原墙草属植物同属一个科。使用药用墙草和犹太墙草（Pj10）通过ELISA抑制试验检测苎麻与墙草属植物的交叉反应性，但未发现交叉反应性，这表明苎麻可能是一种新的独立变应原。由于苎麻在日本和东南亚广泛分布，需要进一步研究以确定它是否像欧洲的墙草属植物和美国的荨麻属植物一样，是该地区荨麻科的一种重要变应原。
