Fifty-six adult patients with atopic eczema have been evaluated for scrum antibodies reactive with wheat gliadin, bovine milk or chicken ovalbumin using a solid-phase enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). Of the atopic eczema sera 35·7% were positive against gliadin and/or milk, compared with 9·2% of the control adult blood donor sera (P < 0·0005). In particular, 30·4% of atopic eczema patients had detectable IgG antibodies reactive with gliadin in contrast to 6·5% of the controls (P < 0·0005). These findings suggest that antigen absorption from the gut may play a role in the aetiopathogencsis of atopic eczema, and lend some support for the use of elimination diets in this condition.