Arctium lappa – Burdock pappus bristles can cause skin irritation and burdock ophthalmia
1
Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
2
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey, United States
3
Institute of Biology, Plant Morphology and Systematics, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Agricultural Science, Veterinary Medicine, Ophthalmology, Public Health, Science and Medical Education
- Keywords
- Burdock, Arctium lappa, Pappus bristles, Burdock ophthalmia, Conjunctivitis, Keratitis, Harvest workers, Burrs, Dermal irritation, Respiratory ailment
- Copyright
- © 2016 Cole et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2016. Arctium lappa – Burdock pappus bristles can cause skin irritation and burdock ophthalmia. PeerJ Preprints 4:e1871v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.1871v1
Abstract
Contact with and handling of burs (the flowering heads or infructescences) from the greater burdock (Arctium lappa L., Asteraceae) and other members of the same genus, is a potential hazard for humans, horses, and dogs. The minute, sharply-pointed, bristly pappus hairs easily detach from the top of the 'seeds' and are carried by the slightest breeze – attaching to skin, mucous membranes, and eyes where they can cause severe dermal irritation, possible respiratory manifestations, and ophthalmia.
Author Comment
This is a case study on plant material of burdock (Arctium lappa L., Asteraceae) collected in the wild for a PhD research project at Heidelberg University, Germany.