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1317109 
Technical Report 
Contact allergy caused by a violin chinrest made out of palisander wood 
Hausen, BM; Mau, HH 
1979 
Hausen, BM; Mau, HH 
PPBIB/02316 
27 
A 19 year old female music student (main subject: violin) developed an allergic contact dermatitis at her chin corresponding to the site of the wooden chinrest. Patchtests with compounds of the standard series as well as with an ethanol extract of the wood, some dalbergiones and primin only gave a positive reaction to the chinrest wood. The timber of the chinrest could be identified botanically as a rosewood species, all data identical with a sample of Indian rosewood Dalbergia latifolia Roxb. Chemical investigation of the extracted wood shavings by preparative thin layer chromatography lead to the isolation of 7 quinoid fractions, four of which could be identified as dalbergiones. Further patch tests revealed that the patient only reacted to one of these 7 fractions which did not contain one of the known dalbergiones. As a whole chinrest (55 g) only yielded 1 mg of this yellow quinone in crystal form no further structural elucidation was possible. A new chinrest made from the same wood was not available for further investigations. Since the student has changed to a new chinrest manufactured from boxwood (Buxus sempervirens L.), no further skin lesions have been observed. Another case of contact dermatitis at the chin in a music student due to a chinrest made fromn ebony wood (Diospyros sp.) has been observed in Strasbourg at the same time. Patchtests with particles scrapped off the chinrest as well as with wood extractives, some ebony quinones, formaldehyde, p-phenylenediamin, anilin, colophonium, cobalt, nickel and delta2-carene only gave positive reactions to the scraped off particles and p-phenylenediamin. Though p-phenylenediamin might have been used for colouring of the wood it could be detected neither on the surface of the wood nor within the wood itself. Therefore this case and the obtained positive reactions to phenylenediamin remained obscure. 
Case report; Human; Adult; Europe; Germany; Rosewood; Dalbergia latifolia; Leguminosae; Ebony; Diospyros; Ebenaceae; Skin; Face; Contact dermatitis; Patch test; Dalbergione; Primin; Phenylenediamin