Pine Pollen Powder: Benefits, Uses & Side Effects
Pollen has been considered as one of the reliable sources of medicine for more than 2000 years. Pollen is a fine to coarse powdery substance produced by certain plants during reproduction, and it is the male fertilizing agent of flowering plants, trees, grasses and weeds. One pollen commonly used for health purposes is pine pollen. Pine pollen powder is believed to have anti-aging properties, improve fatigue and promote testosterone production in human body. And pine pollen comes from a variety of pine trees such as Pinus massoniana, Pinus tabulaeformis, Pinus sylvestris and so on. You can find pine pollen in different forms such as tablets, powders, capsules or tinctures in dietary supplements on the market. They may be individual 100% pine pollen products, or they may be blended product with other ingredients.
Benefits and Uses
Pine pollen powder has long been widely used for various health purposes, such as:
Added to food as a dietary supplement
Delay ageing
Relieving fatigue
Skin care efficacy
Promote testosterone level in human body
Regulating effect on gastrointestinal dysfunction
Hepatoprotective effect
Maintenance of cardiovascular health
Improve digestion and constipation
Improvement of prostatic diseases
Many of the functions mentioned above are mostly based on personal experience and feelings, and lack of scientific experimental data to support them. However, there are still some studies showing that pine pollen is indeed related to these effects.
Nutritional Value
The total sugar content in pine pollen powder is about 17.71%
There are various kinds of sugars, including monosaccharides, oligosaccharides and polysaccharides. The most promising pollen polysaccharides have strong immune and anti-cancer effects.
The total protein content of pine pollen is about 11.1%
This is higher than that of eggs and is equivalent to or slightly higher than that of beef and chicken. A considerable portion of these proteins are enzymes that accelerate the dust reaction. These enzymes play an important role in human metabolic activities.
Amino acids
Pine pollen powder contains 20 kinds of amino acids, of which seven are indispensable to human life, namely, phenylalanine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. Most amino acids exist in free state. From the point of view of nutrition, free amino acids are more easily absorbed by human body, especially for children and the elderly.
Nucleic acid
Nucleic acid can promote protein synthesis, control and regulate cell division and growth. From birth to death, it is controlled and regulated by nucleic acid, so nucleic acid is the foundation of life. Nucleic acid has the function of preventing cell senescence and repairing damaged cells after metabolism. It contains 48.65 mg of nucleic acid in every 100 grams of pine pollen. It is a natural health supplement of nucleic acid.
Vitamins
Including vitamin A, vitamin B1, B2, B16, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, vitamin C, vitamin D, E, P (rutin), nicotinamide and more than ten kinds of vitamins.
Minerals and trace elements
In addition to calcium, potassium, chlorine, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, silicon and other minerals, there are also very rich trace elements, such as iron, iodine, copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, chromium, selenium, barium and so on.
Lipids
Pine pollen powder contains lipids such as phospholipids, glycolipids, linoleic acid, linolenic acid and other lipids. As well as phytohormones, flavonoids, rutin, antibiotics and auxins, rutin has a strong and effective protective effect on capillary wall. It can protect our body, prevent bleeding and bleeding, and reduce the time required for blood coagulation. It also enhances the contraction of the heart and slows down the heart rate. It can be used for palpitation, erythema and fragile capillaries. It has effects on cerebral hemorrhage, retinal hemorrhage and heart disease, and can enhance reticular system (especially capillaries). This glycoside is effective even in small quantities.
There is not too much human studies on the benefits of pine pollen as a dietary supplement. However, a study on pigs[1] found that add of pine pollen in pigs’ feed increased fecal weight and water content. This indicates that pine pollen may be a good source of fiber supplement.
Anti-aging
The trace elements contained in pine pollen powder, such as flavonoids, arginine, vitamin C, Ｅ, carotene and selenium, can scavenge free radicals in vivo, improve the activity of antioxidant enzymes (such as copper, zinc superoxide dismutase), inhibit lipid peroxidation, eliminate senile spots and delay cell senescence. The reason why pine pollen has anti-aging effect is that its diverse active nutrients can interact with each other, adjust the functions of the whole body, maintain the vitality of the body’s tissues, make intelligence persistent, thus delaying aging.
Gen-Xiang Mao et al.[2] studied the anti-aging effects of pine pollen in cultured human cells and in mice in 2012. Except for cancer cells, most cells cannot divide indefinitely. They can only be divided into a limited number of times. This is called replicative senescence. Researchers found that pine pollen delayed the replication senescence of cultured human cells.
Researchers found that pine pollen powder prevented memory errors in neurological activity tests in mice. They also noticed an increase in antioxidant activity and a decrease in inflammation-related molecules in their experiment.
Antioxidant properties
Antioxidants are substances that prevent the adverse effects of oxygen. It is a kind of substance that can help capture and neutralize free radicals, thereby eliminating the damage of free radicals to human body. The passive theory of aging holds that aging is a random process generated by time in the body. It first appears on enzymes, and then changes DNA and RNA, resulting in inaccurate enzymes. Make this cycle mistake, disaster and death. This random change is that the accumulation of damage caused by oxygen free radicals overcomes the body’s ability to repair, leading to changes in cell differentiation or even loss. Antioxidants in vivo are the main factors to eliminate this damage and stabilize cell differentiation. If this argument holds, the content and activity of antioxidants in vivo should be related to the life span of the species.
In addition, DNA damage caused by oxidative reactions can lead to cancer. Several antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glutathione S-transferase, can protect DNA from oxidative stress. Polymorphisms of these enzymes are associated with DNA damage and increase individual cancer susceptibility.
Because antioxidants are associated with human aging and cancer, the antioxidant properties of pine pollen powder have been studied. Kyung-hee Lee et al.[3] found that pine pollen extracts had the same antioxidant activity as control antioxidants. Pine pollen extract also has anti-inflammatory effect, which reduces the level of inflammation-related molecules in stimulated cells in culture.
Changming Zhou et al.[4] studied cultured cells and rats in 2018 and found that carbohydrates extracted from pine pollen had antioxidant activity. In addition, the researchers also found that rats pretreated with pollen-derived carbohydrates had significantly lower levels of liver injury and enzymes associated with liver injury when exposed to toxic compounds.
Testosterone
Testosterone was found in the pollen of Pinus sylvestris. It is estimated that 10 grams of this pollen contains 0.8 micrograms of testosterone [5] . Therefore, pine pollen is often thought to be used to increase testosterone levels. However, there is still a lack of research on the effect of pine pollen on testosterone level.
Many of the exciting benefits of pine pollen powder as a functional food are its balancing effects on androgens such as testosterone or DHEA-S. Although pine pollen does not contain any synthetic hormones, it contains a potent amount of brassinosteroids.rassinosteroids are plant-specific polyhydroxylated derivatives of 5α-cholestane, structurally similar to cholesterol-derived animal steroid hormones and ecdysteroids from insects. They are found at low levels in pollen, seeds, leaves, and young vegetative tissues throughout the natural plants. These natural plant hormones mimic the structure and function of testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, androsterone and epiandrosterone. Brassinosteroids was first found in the pollen of Brassica napus, so it got its name [6] . The study showed that brassinosteroids was related to increasing the synthesis of nucleic acid and protein. And it has some similarities with ecdysteroids, which have a wide range of physiological and pharmacological functions in animals and insects, including regulating protein synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism.
Wang Liwen et al.[7] studied the effect of Pinus tabulaeformis pollen on testicular development and spermatogenesis in young male mice, and compared it with testosterone group and normal control group. The results showed that Pinus tabulaeformis pollen had testosterone-like effect, and could promote testicular development and spermatogenesis.
Niu Siyun et al.[8] found that Pinus massoniana pollen can improve the dysfunction of hypothalamus-pituitary-testicular axis in aging male rats. After pine pollen administration, serum luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone and gonadotropin releasing hormone decreased significantly, while insulin-like growth factor(IGF-1) and testosterone increased significantly.
Possible side effects and risks
Many people are allergic to pollen. Therefore, intake of pine pollen may cause allergic symptoms. Pollen allergens are caused by the fact that pollen is rich in protein, some of which are major allergens. Pollen allergy is characterized by runny nose, sneezing, itchy nose and eyes, and coughing. There are three main manifestations of pollen allergy:
1. Pollen allergic rhinitis, such as itching, sneezing, runny nose, nasal obstruction, dyspnea, etc.
2. Pollen allergic asthma is characterized by paroxysmal cough, dyspnea, sudden onset of asthma and gradual aggravation.
3. Pollen allergic conjunctivitis is characterized by itchy eyes and swollen eyelids, often accompanied by water or purulent mucus secretions.
Although most people do not have any side effects when taking pine pollen, allergic people may have allergic reactions when taking pine pollen. Therefore, these people should be cautious when eating pine pollen, and it is better to have a sensitivity test first. If allergies have occurred, stop eating and seek medical help for timely treatment. In addition, because the rich nucleic acid in pine pollen is extremely harmful to gout patients and people with high uric acid, it is better for such patients not to take pine pollen.
Reference:
1. L. Zhao, W. Windisch, F. X. Roth, K. Eder and T. Ettle, Nutritive value of Masson Pine pollen (Pinus massoniana) in comparison to wheat bran and effects on stool characteristics in a pig model.
2. Gen-Xiang Mao, Ling-Di Zheng, Yong-Bao Cao, Zhuo-Mei Chen, Yuan-Dong Lv, Ya-Zhen Wang, Xi-Lian Hu, Guo-Fu Wang, and Jing Yan , Antiaging Effect of Pine Pollen in Human Diploid Fibroblasts and in a Mouse Model Induced by D-Galactose, Published online 2012 Apr 17. doi: 10.1155/2012/750963.
3. Kyung-Hee Lee1, Ae-Jung Kim and Eun-Mi Choi, Antioxidant and Antiinflammatory Activity of Pine Pollen Extract in Vitro, Phytother. Res. 23, 41–48 (2009) Published online in Wiley InterScience, DOI: 10.1002/ptr.2525.
4. Changming Zhou, Shaojie Yin, Zhongfang Yu, Yuxiang Feng, Kai Wei, Weiming Ma, Lijiang Ge, Zhengui Yan,and Ruiliang Zhu1, Preliminary Characterization, Antioxidant and Hepatoprotective Activities of Polysaccharides from Taishan Pinus massoniana Pollen, Molecules. 2018 Feb; 23(2): 281. Published online 2018 Jan 30. doi: 10.3390/molecules23020281.
5. Saden-Krehula , Tajić and Kolbah , Testosterone, epitestosterone and androstenedione in the pollen of Scotch pine P. silvestris L. Experientia 1971; 27(1):108-9.
6. Debora Esposito, Slavko Komarnytsky, Sue Shapses, and Ilya Raskin, Anabolic effect of plant brassinosteroid, FASEB J. 2011 Oct; 25(10): 3708–3719. doi: 10.1096/fj.11-181271.
7. Wang Liwen and Tong Zhe, Effects of Pinus tabulaeformis pollen on testicular development and spermatogenesis in young male mice, DOI: http://ir.calis.edu.cn/hdl/172200/3152
8. Niu Siyun, Pang Xiaojing and Gao Fulu, Regulation of Pine Pollen on Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular Axis in D-Galactose Subacute Aged Rats, Chinese Journal of Gerontology, 2006, 26 (8): 1098-1099
