ORAL ALLERGY SYNDROME TO JACKFRUIT (ARTOCARPUS-INTEGRIFOLIA)

A 30-year-old man from the Philippines with pollen allergy noted the a ppearance of oral allergy syndrome (GAS) after eating raw apple, raw p each, raw celery, and, recently, jackfruit (Artocarpus integrifolia). a tropical fruit which belongs to the Moraceae family (mulberry) and t o the genus Artocarpus (breadfruit tree). Despite the patient's multip le sensitization in skin prick tests and in the Pharmacia CAP System t o birch, grass, mugwort pollen, related fruits and vegetables, and jac kfruit, in RAST-inhibition studies neither rBet v 1 nor rBet v 2 (prof ilin). the well-known cross-reacting allergenic components in GAS, cou ld inhibit the specific IgE response to jackfruit. Whether the reactio n to jackfruit is specific or whether other pollen-related, cross-reac ting allergenic components exist should be investigated further.