Prostaglandins and Medicine, 1978 Dec;1(6):499-505
The authors discuss the bronchoconstriction caused by tartrazine (Yellow 5) in people who are aspirin-sensitive, as well as its effect on the prostaglandin system of guinea pig lungs. They found that the dye inhibits formation of both prostaglandins and thromboxane A2 at the cyclooxygenase level – just like aspirin andindomethacin do.
At right is a graph showing the improvement (2) of an aspirin-sensitive patient on a salicylate-free, dye-free diet, and the dramatic worsening (3) after two weeks with the addition of a very small amount of Yellow 5 per day. Click on the graph to see detail.
