Since 1976, allergic contact dermatitis caused by Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramalk (commercial name: Kinriki) occured on the grower in Tokushima Prefecture. Consequently, a systematic study aimed at the isolation of the allergen of the chrysanthemum was udertaken.
The allergens were contained in the fresh juice of the leaves of chrysanthemum and they were of two types: one was water-soluble and the other was fat-soluble, judging from the results of application test of the skin reaction for sensitized guinea pigs.
The fresh juice of the chrysanthemums was fractionated with ammonioum sulfate saturation method and the active precipitates were chromatographed on Sephacryl S-300 and DEAE-cellulose column, successively. The most active fractions contained sugar and protein, suggesting that the water-soluble principles are high molecular glyco-protein. The other hand fat-soluble fraction was obtained from ethyl acetate extract of the supernatant of 65% ammonium sulfate saturation. The extract was chromatographed on silica gel column and on the thin layer to yield 5, 7-dihydroxychromone (I) and sesquiterpens (II-VI). Unfortunately, at that time the sensitization of ginea pigs was unsuccessfuly. Therefore their compounds could not be tested for the allergenic reaction.
When the precipitates of ammonium sulfate were extrcted with ethyl acetate, the allergenic activeity of the precipitates decreased. However, re-addition of the ethyl acetate extracts to the extracted precipitates recovered the activity. Cross reaction between the juice of leaves and sesquiterpene lactone, alantolactone, failed on skin reaction of sensitized ginea pigs.

A 52-years-old female farmer has suffered from bronchial asthma during the last 10 years during the lettuce growing season (NOV.-May). Laboratory test findings showed that her sumptoms were due to type I allergy. Namely, she showed eosinophilia, an increased level of Ig E and an immediate positive reaction to intracutaneous lettuce allergen. But, she gave negative reactions in RAST and immediate skin reaction test to 23 common allergens. By provocation tests she showed positive reactions to both the environment (FEV_1.0-26.8%) and allergen inhalation (FEV_1.0-30.0%), and had amoderate attack 15 minutes after inhalation of undiluted lettuce juice. The allergen was extracted from fresh lettuce juice by Coca's method. The protein concentration of the allergen was 8.74 mg/ml and its concentration in crude juice was 0.874 mg/ml.
Inhalation of lettuce juice during the harvest time was concluded to be the cause of this allergy.
A survey of farmers cultivating lettuce by a questionnaire and by mass physical examination revealed dermatitis as the most frequent complaint, with a similar incidence (7.1%) of respiratory symptoms including rhlnitis. However, further detailed questioning showed that the cause of most respiratory symptoms was not allergic, and the intracutaneous reaction of the farmers to the allergen was similar to that of control subjects who were not farm workers. The positive rate of the skin patch test was significantly higher in farmers growing lettuce than in control who were not farm workers.
Allergic disease caused by lettuce might be generated as allergic dermatitis of type IV. Type I allergy caused by lettuce is rare, but here we reported one case of this rare type.

We have reported that many chrysanthemum- and lettuce-growers have dermatitis caused by juice of the leaves of these plants and that this dermatitis is caused by an allergic mechanism. In arecent questionnaire on the cause of this dermatitis, half the farmers answerd that it was due to agricultural chemicals. Therefore, we tested the farmers by skin patch tests with several widely used chemicals. In the tests, daconil gave the strongest reaction, results being positive in 60% of the farmers. Daconil was very irritative and phototoxic, the percentage of positive reactions in the patch test with 800 times diluted daconil solution of the concentration commonly used being about 30% after 48 hours and about 60% at 48 hours after peeling off the patch.
The parcentage of positive reactions in the skin patch test with several fractions of chrysanthemums on chrysanthemum-growers were significantly higher than non-farm-workers. Similary, tests with allergen extracted from lettuce showed a significantly higher percentage incidence in lettuce -growers than in other subjects. The patch test with 4000 times diluted daconil solution showed ahigher incidence in farmers than in other subjects. Therefore, 4000 times diluted daconil solution seems to cause allergic contact dermatitis in farmers, and as farmers reported, dermatitis seems to be caused by allergy to farm products, and the irritability, phototoxicity and allergenicity of TPN (Daconil).

Three patients with hypersensitivity pneumonitis caused by inhalation of spores of Cortinus shiitake (Lentinus edodes) cultivated in vinyl houses were observed. These three patients developed the disease after harvesting shiitake for several hours in closed frame houses with a heater in the autum and winter. The frames were full of spores of shiitake and the patients suffered from a discordant feeling, systemic weakness, a feeling of cold, fever (over 38 C), a feeling of airway occlusion, a slight cough and sputum. These symptoms disappeared during rest the next day.
Case 1 was examined by the inhalation provocation test with a suspension of shiitake spores and spore-allergen. This test caused several clinical symptoms (fever, airway occlusion and various symptomatic feelings), leucocytosis, decrease of PaO₂ a positive reaction of CRP and X-ray findings (appearance of interstitial pneumonitis shadows).
The 3 patients were considered to be suffering from allergic hypersensitivity pneumonitis due to inhalation of spores of Cortinus shiitake, because of their work, the development of symptoms after work in specific occupational conditions, a positive reaction to precipitating antibody against spore-allergen of shiitake, negative reactions to precipitation antibodies to 11 molds-allergens, various abnormal values in immunological tests and a positive reaction in a provocation test in one case.
In a survey of 45 shiitake-grower, it was found that 6 (13.3%) suffered from respiratory disease. No difference was found in the incidence of intracutaneous reactions to spore-allergen or allergen of dried shiitake in non-farm workers. Among 31 growers of shiitake a precipitation antibody to spore-allergen was observed only in these three patients. These results indicate that an allergic disposition is very important for development of hypersensitivity pneumonitis.