Bee Pollen Retains Allergenic Potential

Bee Pollen Sensitivity in Airborne Pollen Allergic Individuals
Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 2006 Nov;97(5):703-6

Background: Physicians who practice alternative medicine often prescribe bee pollen as a food supplement and a treatment for various ailments.

Objectives: To determine the qualitative and quantitative composition of bee pollen and to investigate the cutaneous reactivity of atopic patients to bee pollen extracts…

Conclusions: Bee pollen contains a large amount of pollen, which belongs to various allergenic families of plants. Bee pollen retains its allergenic potential as demonstrated by strong cutaneous responses to bee pollen extracts observed in atopic patients in contrast to nonatopic subjects. Regarding pollen allergic individuals, further studies are needed to evaluate the safety of ingesting large amounts of bee pollen.