Allergy Asthma Immunol Res.  2018 May;10(3):278-282. 10.4168/aair.2018.10.3.278.

Chamber and Field Studies demonstrate Differential Amb a 1 Contents in Common Ragweed Depending on COâ‚‚ Levels

• Choi YJ
• Oh HR
• Oh JW
• Kim KR
• Kim MJ
• Kim BJ
• Baek WG

• KMID: 2409063
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4168/aair.2018.10.3.278

Abstract

Although atmospheric carbon dioxide (COâ‚‚) has no apparent direct effect on human health, it does have direct effects on plants. The present study evaluated the influence of increased COâ‚‚ levels on the concentration of allergens from common ragweed pollen by setting up a chamber study to model future air conditions and a field study to evaluate current air conditions. For the chamber study, we established 20 ragweed plants in an open-top chamber under different COâ‚‚ levels (380-400, 500-520, 600-620, and 1,000-1,100 parts per million [ppm]). For the field study, we established ragweed plants in rural (Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do; mean COâ‚‚ 320±54.8 ppm) and urban (Gangnam, Seoul; mean COâ‚‚ 440±78.5 ppm) locations. Seeds of the common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) were obtained from Daejin University. The Amb a 1 protein content of pollen extracts was quantified using a double sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In our chamber study, the median concentration of Amb a 1 in pollen increased with increasing in COâ‚‚ concentration (1.88 ng/µg in 380-400 ppm COâ‚‚; 3.14 ng/µg in 500-520 ppm COâ‚‚; 4.44 ng/µg in 600-620 ppm COâ‚‚; and 5.36 ng/µg in 1,000-1,100 ppm COâ‚‚). In our field study, we found no significantly different concentration of Amb a 1 between the pollen extracts at the Pocheon (mean±standard deviation, 1.63±0.3 ng/µg pollen in 320±54.8 ppm COâ‚‚) and the Gangnam (2.04±0.7 ng/µg pollen in COâ‚‚ in 440±78.5 ppm COâ‚‚) locations, although the concentration of Amb a 1 was increased in the Gangnam than in the Pocheon locations. Our results suggest that future increases in COâ‚‚ levels to more than 600 ppm will significantly elevate the Amb a 1 content in common ragweeds, although the current different COâ‚‚ levels do not cause differences in the Amb a 1 content of ragweed pollen.

Keyword

Ragweed; carbon dioxide; pollen allergy

MeSH Terms

Allergens
Ambrosia*
Carbon Dioxide
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Gyeonggi-do
Humans
Pollen
Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal
Seoul
Allergens
Carbon Dioxide

Figure

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  Figure Comparison of ragweed allergen (Amb a 1) in each chamber (n=20).

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