HERB - Echinacea & Ragweed

[lklc]

Katharine Blackthorn wrote:

> >
> > OK, now I've got more questions.
> >
> > >From what I remember from school, we were told that the reason ragweed
> was so
> > nasty for us allergy sufferers was the unusual shape of its pollen.
Under
> a
> > microscope, it looks like a morning-star with attitude.  Most other
> pollens look
> > soft, smooth, & round by comparison.
> >
> > (Mind you, I don't trust a "fact" just because it came from a HS
teacher.
> If I
> > did, I'd wonder why Elizabeth -- who my teachers said only bathed
> thrice --
> > always traveled with a bathtub!)
> >
>
> She carried stuff in it .   Heavens, you don't actually think she used
> it for it's intended purpose? :-)
>
>
> > But IF it is the pollen coating that accounts for the nasty effects,
would
> this
> > be true of the other members of the family?  And would it be relevant if
> you
> > weren't using the flowers?
> >
> > Or was my teacher just jumping to conclusions?
> >
> > --Katherine Blackthorn
> >

>
I don't know, but I'd guess, yes.  Because, as I understand allergies, they
are caused by foreign
proteins.  Our body recognizes it as foreign by it's  shape.  The  same way
we recognize any bacteria, virus, or foreign body tissue (transplants)by
their shape.  I would guess, the pollen is a very large protein and this is
it's actual shape.  However, it may be that this is a group of proteins that
together reflect the shape of an individual protein.  (kind of like the way
a large crystal reflects the shape of a single molecule).
I can see from this why a round pollen might be
 less innocuous as we probably encounter lots of rounds particles in our
body.>
>
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