Ears of BALB/C mice were exposed daily to various chemicals or vehicles for 3 consecutive days and auricular lymph nodes were obtained on the 4th day. Cells isolated from the auricular lymph nodes were cultured for 1 day. Supernatant of the cell culture was tested for the level of interferon-γ(IFN-γ) and interleukin-1 β(IL-1 β) by ELISA and the results were as follows: 1. Auricular lymph node cells produced more than 1000 pg/ml of IFN-γ after application of various concentrations of oxazolone (0.25%, 0.5%, 3.0%) and DNCB (0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%) after a 24 hour culture. 2. After sensitizing with 1% oxazolone, IFN-γ started to increase at 9 hours (2058.5 pg/ml) of culture and reached a high level at 24 hours (19768.5 pg/ml). The level was maintained until 48 hours (21368.5 pg/ml). 3. After sensitizing wi th 1% DNCB, IFN-γ started to increase at 6 hours (225.4 pg/ml) of culture and rapidly increased until 48 hours. The level was maintained until 120 hours (20401.6 pg/ml) of culture. 4. IFN- γ was produced after sensitization with moderate to weak allergens such as isoeugenol, eugenol, and cinnamic aldehyde, while IL-1 β was produced after sensitization with weak allergens such as germall Ⅱ, eugenol, and cinnamic aldehyde. From the above results, we observed an increase in IFW-γ and IL-1 β in the draining lymph node cells of BALB/C mice after induction of contact hypersensitivity. Therefore, detection of IFN-γ and IL-1β by ELISA from the supernatant of cultured draining lymph node cells may be a useful alternative method to detect weak allergens, which are not easily identified by conventional methods.