Cochineal
carmine, or simply
carmine (E120), is a red colouring that is obtained from the dried bodies of the female insect Dactylopius coccus Costa (the cochineal insect). We have evaluated the prevalence of sensitization and
asthma caused by
carmine in a factory using natural colouring, following the diagnosis of two workers with
occupational asthma. The accumulated incidence of sensitization and
occupational asthma due to
carmine in this factory are 48.1% and 18.5% respectively, figures that make the introduction of preventive measures obligatory.
Occupational asthma caused by inhaling
carmine should be considered as a further example of the capacity of certain
protein particles of arthropods (in this case cochineal insects) to act as aeroallergens.
Carmine should be added to the list of agents capable of producing
occupational asthma, whose mechanism, according to our studies, would be immunological mediated by
IgE antibodies in the face of diverse
allergens of high molecular weight, which can vary from patient to patient. Nonetheless, given the existence of different components in
carmine, it cannot be ruled out that substances of low molecular weight, such as
carminic acid, might act as haptenes. Besides, since we are dealing with a colouring that is widely used as a
food additive, as a
pharmaceutical excipient and in the composition of numerous
cosmetics, it is not surprising that
allergic reactions can appear both through ingestion and through direct cutaneous contact. We find ourselves facing a new example of an
allergen that can act through both inhalation and digestion, giving rise to an allergolical syndrome that can show itself clinically with expressions of both respiratory
allergy and alimentary
allergy.