Grass species of importance as pathogens of hayfever in the netherlands

Abstract

Abstract Using data from the medical and the botanical literature, an attempt is made to ensure an optimally objective selection of grass species of relevance as pathogens of pollinosis symptoms in the Netherlands. This could also be done for other countries or areas in the same way. The 144 grass and cereal species occurring in the Netherlands were subjected to five selection criteria and thus reduced to 29 grass species (belonging to 20 genera) which we consider relevant to pollinosis symptoms in the Netherlands. Our selection has been compared with the selection of grass pollen extracts now available from pharmaceutical firms. The flowering times of the 29 selected grass species proved to differ widely, which may be of importance in characterizing different pollinosis patients.