Sabra dermatitis: combined features of delayed hypersensitivity and foreign body reaction to implanted glochidia.

A striking dermatitis referred to by its colloquial designation of sabra dermatitis is associated with glochidia inoculation from the Opuntia cactus commonly known as the prickly pear. We report a 45-year-old woman who had an unexpected encounter with a cactus plant during a trip to Texas. She brushed up against the plant and was aware that she had been inoculated with several spines of the plant. Five days later she developed erythematous papules on the digits accompanied by swelling. The biopsy showed a very striking granulomatous reaction pattern within the dermis. There was a linear pattern of necrobiosis, likely representing a tract of inoculation injury palisaded by histiocytes including multinucleated forms. This necrobiotic tract demonstrated retained glochidia, each measuring roughly 40 to 70 microns in diameter. The nature of the inflammatory response is one that combines features of classic delayed hypersensitivity and an innate foreign body response. The glochidia are capable of eliciting a T cell mediated immune response; it is reasonable to assume that a Th1 cytokine signal is responsible for the unique pattern of inflammation including the secondary influx of neutrophils and relative lack of tissue eosinophilia.

Histopathology of sabra dermatitis: A case report.

Sabra dermatitis (SD) is a form of irritant contact dermatitis caused by penetration of small, hair-like glochids from Opuntia cactus into the skin. SD is a common problem among the farmers who are in close contact with prickly pears; however, the histopathologic criteria for this condition are not well defined. The purpose of this article is to present a well-documented case of SD and to acquaint pathologists with the entity.

Beware the BATUS Cactus--cactus dermatitis in exercising soldiers on the Albertan prairie.

Species of the Opuntia or prickly pear genus of cacti are endemic to the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) training area in Alberta, Canada. They are known to provoke a dermatitis reaction in harvesters of the cacti fruit. It's spines are frequently an uncomfortable nuisance to unwary soldiers exercising in BATUS. We report two cases of particularly debilitating adverse skin reactions to the cacti spines that occurred during the 2010 Exercise Prairie Thunder season.

Acute toxicity of Opuntia ficus indica and Pistacia lentiscus seed oils in mice.

Opuntia ficus indica and Pistacia lentiscus L. seeds are used in traditional medicine. The objective of this study was to investigate the toxicity of the fixed oil of Opuntia ficus indica and Pistacia lentiscus L. seeds in mice through determination of LD50 values, and also the physicochemical characteristics of the fixed oil of these oils. The acute toxicity of their fixed oil were also investigated in mice using the method of Kabba and Berhens. The fixed oil of Pistacia lentiscus and Opuntia ficus indica seeds were extracted and analyzed for its chemical and physical properties such as acid value, free fatty acid percentage (% FFA), iodine index, and saponification value as well as refractive index and density. LD50 values obtained by single doses, orally and intraperitoneally administered in mice, were respectively 43 ± 0,8 ;[40.7- 45.4 ] ml/kg body wt. p.o. and 2.72 ± 0,1 ;[2.52-2.92] ml/kg body wt. i.p. for Opuntia ficus indica ; and 37 ± 1 ;[34.4 - 39.8 ] ml/kg body wt. p.o. and 2.52 ± 0,2 ;[2.22 - 2.81 ] ml/kg body wt. i.p. for Pistacia lentiscus respectively. The yields of seed oil were respectively calculated as 20.25% and 10.41%. The acid and free fatty acid values indicated that the oil has a low acidity.