A MAJOR BAKERS ASTHMA ALLERGEN FROM RYE FLOUR IS CONSIDERABLY MORE ACTIVE THAN ITS BARLEY COUNTERPART

A rye flour protein of about 13.5 kDa, as well as its barley homologue , have been isolated. The rye component was recognized in vitro by IgE of allergic patients and provoked positive responses in 15 out of 21 baker's asthma patients (71%) when skin prick tests were performed. It s barley homologue showed no detectable in vitro reactivity and caused positive responses in only one-third of patients. Although no inhibit ory activity against different alpha-amylases or trypsin was found for these two proteins, their N-terminal sequencing revealed considerable similarity to several members of the cereal alpha-amylase/trypsin inh ibitor family.