Investigations of the allergens of cocksfoot grass (dactylis glomerata) pollen

The pollen of cocksfoot grass (Dactylis glomerata) is an important cause of allergic reactions in man. Preliminary studies, which established that constituents of an extract of this pollen could be separated, and then recovered efficiently, by size-exclusion chromatography on TSK G3000 SW, have been extended. A comparative examination has been made by this procedure of cocksfoot pollen extracts from different sources and of several batches of extract from one source. The recovery and distribution of biological activity has been assessed by the radioallergosorbent test, and the results have been used for the selection of fractions for further investigation by chromatography and electrophoresis. Two constituents active in the radioallergosorbent test have been purified from the extracts.