• Improvement in nasal symptom scores from baseline after intervention
  

• change in cytokine profile with intervention compared to placebo
  

Current therapy for most immune-based diseases center around the use of anti inflammatory agents, many of which have unpleasant or dangerous side effects. Allergic rhinitis affects over 40 million Americans and its morbidity results from a combination of physical and psychological symptoms. The primary immunopathology has been defined as an imbalance of TH1/TH2 cytokines production resulting in increased allergen-specific IgE production, mast cell activation and eosinophil recruitment/activity. Metallic salts of orotic acid (OR), a natural intermediate in pyrimidine nucleic acid synthesis have been utilized to improve the signs and symptoms of a variety of maladies including the common cold, allergies and as preventatives for cancer and heart disease. Recent studies have reported that moderate doses of OR can mitigate or prevent endocrine and subjective psychological stresses in an acute laboratory stress model. All these findings lead us to hypothesize that OR salts administration will alleviate or eliminate the signs and symptoms associated with seasonal AR through a protective effect that involves direct anti-inflammatory immune effects and/or immunomodulation that include leukocyte trafficking, immunoregulatory cytokine balance and/or decrease inflammatory cell activity.