w10 Goosefoot, Lamb´s quarters

Allergens within Weed Pollens

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  • Latin name: Chenopodium album
  • Family: Chenopodiaceae
  • Common names: Goosefoot, Lamb's-Quarters, Common Lamb's Quarters, Lambsquarter, White Goosefoot
  • Source material: Pollen
Note: This plant is sometimes called Pigweed but needs to be differentiated from Common Pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus).

A weed species producing pollen, which often induces hayfever, asthma and conjunctivitis in sensitised individuals.

Allergen Exposure

Geographical distribution
Goosefoot originated in Europe but is now found throughout the world.
 
Goosefoot is an annual herb varying from 30 cm to 2 m in height. The stems are erect, smooth, longitudinally grooved, and often red, purple or light-green striped. Chenopodium comes from the Latin for "goose foot," which describes the shape of the leaves. The leaves are 2.5 to 8 cm long, stalked, smooth, and covered with tiny white mealy particles/scales, particularly on the lower surface. Occasionally the plant may have purple leaf bases. The entire plant is covered with varying amounts of a waxy substance, giving a light-green appearance.
 
The flowers are inconspicuous: green, and without petals. These flowers are found in dense clusters at the tips of branches and at the top of the stem. Goosefoot flowers throughout the summer but predominantly in the autumn, producing abundant pollen. A full-grown plant can give off as many as 20 000 pollen grains. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by wind. The tiny seeds are disc-shaped with a notch. They are glossy black, brown or brownish-green, 1.2 to 1.6 mm in diameter, and ripen from August to October.
 
Environment
Goosefoot is found in open habitats, rubbish tips and cultivated fields, and especially on rich soils and old manure heaps. Chenopodium species are tolerant of salty soils. They do not grow in the shade.
 
Unexpected exposure
The leaves and seeds of all members of this genus are more or less edible. They can be cooked and eaten as a spinach substitute, or dried. The seed can be dried and ground into a meal, eaten raw, baked into a bread, or added as a supplement to grain flour. The ground seeds can also be used as medication.
 
However, many of the species in this genus contain saponins, though usually in quantities too small to do any harm. The plants also contain some oxalic acid. In nitrogen-rich soils, the plants can also concentrate hydrogen cyanide.
 
Allergens
Although an allergen with a molecular weight of 35 kDa has been islolated, allergens from Goosefoot have not been fully characterised (1, 2).  
 
A 2S albumin protein has been isolated from Chenopodium album seeds and is antigenically homologous to proteins of similar molecular weight in seeds of certain other members of Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae. Chenopodium 2S albumin is, however, antigenically unrelated to the low-molecular-weight albumins of dicots belonging to other families (3). Whether 2S albumin protein is present in pollen from this plant has not been determined.

Potential Cross-Reactivity

An extensive cross-reactivity among the different individual species of the genus could be expected, as well as to a certain degree among members of the family Chenopodiaceae (4).
 
Atriplex latifolia, Beta vulgaris, Salsola kali and Amaranthus retroflexus were compared with an extract from Chenopodium album by both in vivo and in vitro methods, the results suggesting that common allergenic determinants were present (5).
 
Sera from individuals sensitised to White Cypress Pine, Italian Cypress, Ryegrass or Birch Pollen were shown to have IgE antibodies that reacted with pollens from these four species and from Cocksfoot, Couch Grass, Lamb's Quarter, Wall Pellitory, Olive, Plantain and Ragweed (6).

Clinical Experience

IgE mediated reactions
Goosefoot pollen can induce asthma, allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis (7-9). 
 
Plants from the Chenopodium genus have been shown to have the highest atopic prevalence in a desert environment in Kuwait, where 64.3% of 706 patients with allergic rhinitis aged between 6 and 64 years were sensitised to this weed's pollen. A second, similar study in this environment reported that Chenopodium pollen was the most prevalent sensitising pollen in asthmatics, with 70.7% of 553 asthmatics sensitised. Plants from the Chenopodium genus were imported and cultivated for the purpose of "greening" the desert (7, 8). Further evidence for the high prevalence of atopic sensitisation to this allergen was found in the sera of 505 young adult blood donors, which were examined for specific IgE to Goosefoot, where the prevalence of sensitisation to this allergen for the entire population was shown to be 22.5% (10).
 
Chenopodiaceae pollen has been found in the atmosphere of Cordoba, Spain, virtually throughout the year, although its presence was continual only between April and October, with maximum concentrations detected in the summer months. Of 1000 patients, over 8% were sensitised to this pollen (11). A similar prevalence was reported in a second study from Cordoba, where 8.42% of pollen-sensitised patients were sensitive to pollen from the Chenopodium family (12). In Comarca Lagunera, Spain, 69% of 101 patients with asthma were positive to Chenopodium on skin prick tests. This was the second most prevalent pollen allergen to which these patients were sensitised (13). Pollen from this plant has also been detected in Salamanca, Spain (14).
 
In a Saudi-Arabian study, Goosefoot pollen allergens were detected in a sandstorm. The authors conclude that sandstorms could contribute to the triggering of allergy symptoms in sensitised individuals (15). A second study from this country demonstrated that Goosefoot pollen is a major sensitising allergen. In 806 Saudi Arabs, Chenopodium album was the most prevalent allergen to which they were sensitised to (53%). In 241 Western expatriates (mainly North Americans) living in the area, this was the 10th most common sensitising allergen, with 24% of patients sensitised to Goosefoot pollen (16).
 
Other European studies have reported the significance of Goosefoot pollen (17). Sites included Athens, Greece (18), and Poland, where examination of the records of 8,576 patients with "upper airway" allergy documented hypersensitivity to weed pollen allergens in 12.5%, the most prevalent sensitisation being to Wormwood (86.2%), Mugwort (82.9%), and White goosefoot (44.3%). Hypersensitivity to grass, tree and/or shrub pollens coexisted in 85.5% (19).

Compiled by Dr Harris Steinman, harris@zingsolutions.com

References:

    1. Wurtzen PA, Nelson HS, Lowenstein H, Ipsen H. Characterization of Chenopodiales (Amaranthus retroflexus, Chenopodium album, Kochia scoparia, Salsola pestifer) pollen allergens. Allergy 1995;50(6):489-97 
    2. Allergenic activity of some kinds of plant pollen. [Russian] Biull Eksp Biol Med 1979;88(9):332-3 
    3. Dey N, Mandal RK. Characterisation of 2S albumin with nutritionally balanced aminoacid composition from the seeds of Chenopodium album and its antigenic homology with seed proteins of some Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae species. Biochem Mol Biol Int 1993;30(1):149-57 
    4. Yman L. Botanical relations and immunological cross-reactions in pollen allergy. 2nd ed. Pharmacia Diagnostics AB. Uppsala. Sweden. 1982: ISBN 91-970475-09 
    5. Lombardero M, Duffort O, Selles JG, Hernandez J, Carreira J. Cross-reactivity among Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae. Ann Allergy 1985;54(5):430-6 
    6. Pham NH, Baldo BA. Allergenic relationship between taxonomically diverse pollens. Clin Exp Allergy 1995;25(7):599-606 
    7. Dowaisan A, Al-Ali S, Khan M, Hijazi Z, Thomson MS, Ezeamuzie CI. Sensitization to aeroallergens among patients with allergic rhinitis in a desert environment. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2000;84(4):433-8 
    8. Ezeamuzie CI, Thomson MS, Al-Ali S, Dowaisan A, Khan M, Hijazi Z. Asthma in the desert: spectrum of the sensitizing aeroallergens. Allergy 2000;55(2):157-62 
    9. Caballero T, Romualdo L, Crespo JF, Pascual C, Munoz-Pereira M, Martin-Esteban M. Cupressaceae pollinosis in the Madrid area. Clin Exp Allergy 1996;26(2):197-201 
    10. Ezeamuzie CI, al-Mousawi M, Dashti H, al-Bashir A, al-Hage M, al-Ali S. Prevalence of allergic sensitization to inhalant allergens among blood donors in Kuwait--a desert country. Allergy 1997;52(12):1194-200 
    11. Galan C, Infante F, Ruiz de Clavijo E, Guerra F, Miguel R, Dominguez E. Allergy to pollen grains from Amaranthaceae and Chenopodiaceae in Cordoba, Spain. Annual and daily variation of pollen concentration. Ann Allergy 1989;63(5):435-8 
    12. Guerra F, Galan C, Miguel R, Infante F, Arenas A, Sanchez Guijo P. Occurrence and clinical profile of the sensitization to Chenopodium in the province of Cordoba (Spain). Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) 1990;18(3):161-6 
    13. Martinez Ordaz VA, Rincon Castaneda CB, Lopez Campos C, Velasco Rodriguez VM. Cutaneous hypersensitivity in patients with bronchial asthma in La Comarca Lagunera. [Spanish] Rev Alerg Mex 1997;44(6):142-5 
    14. Hernandez Prieto M, Lorente Toledano F, Romo Cortina A, Davila Gonzalez I, Laffond Yges E, Calvo Bullon A. Pollen calendar of the city of Salamanca (Spain). Aeropalynological analysis for 1981-1982 and 1991-1992. Allergol Immunopathol (Madr) 1998;26(5):209-22 
    15. Kwaasi AA, Parhar RS, al-Mohanna FA, Harfi HA, Collison KS, al-Sedairy ST. Aeroallergens and viable microbes in sandstorm dust. Potential triggers of allergic and nonallergic respiratory ailments. Allergy 1998;53(3):255-65 
    16. Suliaman FA, Holmes WF, Kwick S, Khouri F, Ratard R. Pattern of immediate type hypersensitivity reactions in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 1997;78(4):415-8 
    17. Spieksma FT, Charpin H, Nolard N, Stix E. City spore concentrations in the European Economic Community (EEC). IV. Summer weed pollen (Rumex, Plantago, Chenopodiaceae, Artemisia), 1976 and 1977. Clin Allergy 1980;10(3):319-29 
    18. Apostolou EK, Yannitsaros AG. Atmospheric pollen in the area of Athens. Acta Allergol 1977;32(2):109-17 
    19. Gniazdowska B, Doroszewska G, Doroszewski W. Hypersensitivity to weed pollen allergens in the region of Bygdoszcz. [Polish] Pneumonol Alergol Pol 1993;61(7-8):367-72

2002