Prosopis juliflora, commonly known as velvet mesquite or the invasive thorny shrub that has colonised roadsides, railway embankments, vacant plots, and open land across Tamil Nadu over the past few decades, is one of the most clinically important but least-discussed allergens in Chennai's allergy landscape. Unlike house dust mite and cockroach, which are recognised in standard allergy panels, Prosopis juliflora pollen is a region-specific sensitiser that is frequently omitted from allergy test panels because it is not a major allergen in Europe or North America where many allergy testing standards are set. In my clinical practice at NIRA Child Clinic, I test for Prosopis juliflora pollen as part of the Chennai-specific allergy panel because the sensitisation is genuinely prevalent in the Tamil Nadu population and because patients sensitised to it have a characteristic seasonal pattern of worsening rhinitis and asthma that corresponds to Prosopis flowering seasons. A child or adult who has rhinitis and wheeze that worsens at certain times of year, lives in an area with visible Prosopis shrubs nearby, and tests positive to Prosopis pollen extract has been given an explanation for a seasonal pattern that generic allergy testing may have missed entirely. For patients managing allergy in Chennai, identifying Tamil Nadu-specific allergens like Prosopis is as clinically important as identifying house dust mite.
Written by Dr. R. Arvind Kumar, MBBS, DNB Paediatrics, AASC (Advanced Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology Specialist Course, 2026), Consultant Pediatrician and Child Specialist, NIRA Child Clinic, 68, 80 Feet Road, Thanikachalam Nagar, Kolathur, Chennai 600110 | Indiraa's Pediatric Clinic (now NIRA Child Clinic), No 62, Foxen Street, Amrithammal Colony, Perambur, Chennai 600011. 18+ years, 30,000+ patients. Phone: +91 9361409090 / 8608686704.
