A Review of the Effects of Major Atmospheric Pollutants on Pollen Grains, Pollen Content, and Allergenicity

Table 1

Studies of the effect of different air pollutants on birch pollen grains.

Birch species	Pollutant(s); studied	Concentration; range	Duration of; exposure	Germination or; viability	Total; proteins	Protein; profiles	IgE; recognition	Reference
B. pendula	NO2	34/67 ppb	6/48 h			—		[153]
Birch allergen	NO2	—	—	—	—	—		[154]
B. verrucosa	NO	1–5%	48 h	—		Numerous modifications	—	[155]
B. alba	NO2	1–400 ppm	Hours to days	—	—	—	—	[134]
B. pendula	O3	61–192 ppb	6/12 h			—	—	[156]
B. papyrifera	O3	Ambient/ambient 1.5	9 years		—	—	—	[87]
B. pendula	CO	10–31 ppm	6/12 h			—	—	[156]
B. papyrifera	CO2	360–560 ppm	9 years		—	—	—	[87]
B. verrucosa	CO	0.01–5%	48 h	—		Numerous modifications	—	[143, 155]
B. verrucosa	CO	100%	2 h	—	—	—	—	[69]
B. pendula	Comparison rural/urban	—	—	—	—	Bet v 1	—	[172]
B. pendula	SO2	130–540 ppb	6/12 h			—	—	[156]
Betula sp.	NO2/O3 /urbanization index	—	—	—	—	(Bet v 1 for O3)	(for O3)	[98]
Betula sp.	Comparison rural/urban	—	—	—	—	Differences in spot intensities	—	[96]
B. papyrifera	CO2 + O3	CO2: 360–560 ppm; O3: Ambient/ambient 1.5	9 years		—	—	—	[87]
Birch (proteins)	Urban air or NO2 + O3	100 ppb	5/50 h	—	—	Nitration of Bet v 1	—	[173, 174]
B. pendula,  B. pubescens	Sulfur and heavy metals	—	—	—		—	=	[55]
B. verrucosa	Comparison rural/urban	—	—		—	—	—	[80]
B. verrucosa	SO2	1%	2 h	—	—	—	—	[69]
Betula sp.	Urban with traffic	Exposed to urban pollution	24/72 h	—	—	—	—	[66]