papaver nudicaule/hypersensitivity

Immediate drug hypersensitivity reactions (IDHRs) constitute a significant health problem that may be compounded by consequences of diagnostic error. In daily practice, IDHR diagnostic work up starts with drug-specific skin testing and/or quantification of specific IgE (sigE) antibodies in serum.

BACKGROUND Anaphylaxis during anaesthesia is fatal in 3-9% of patients and analgesics, including opioids, and is the second most common medicament-related cause, although the prevalence is underestimated. We recently found that patients may generate IgE antibodies to opium seeds. OBJECTIVE To

The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum L., is the source of both poppy seeds and opium. The commercially available seeds are widely used as ingredients for various kinds of food. IgE-mediated sensitization to poppy seeds is rare, but, if present, clinical symptoms are usually severe.

Twenty eight workers of a pharmaceutical factory were studied. The company produced morphine and other alkaloids extracting the active principles from shells of Papaver somniferum. Six of the exposed subjects had clinical symptoms of sensitization to this allergen and positive skin tests. A

Guillain-Barré Syndrome is the most common form of polineuropathy. It is suggested that some infectious, immune and allergic factors are involved in developing the syndrome. "Kompot" or "Polish heroine", a domestic product, is produced from poppy straw or juice of poppy head (Papaver somniferum) and