Fresh Pollen Offers Best Therapeutic and Nutritional Benefits

The Probiotic Effect of Rock Rose Pollen Frozen in a Fresh State
Prof. Jost Dustmann (Germany)

Presented at: 5th German Apitherapy Congress, March 23-25, 2007, Passau, Germany

See also: http://www.pollenergie.fr/

* The pollen is harvested in Spain in the Extremadura Mountains.
* This is a very well-protected and totally wild area.
* The dominant variety is Cistus Ladaniferus.
* This pollen is usually virtually mono-floral and of an orange colour. However, small quantities of very dark violet pollen from viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare) may be present in samples of rock rose pollen.
Each flower produces a large amount of pollen.
* The bee leaves the hive with its crop full of nectar that is rich in lactobacteria and yeasts. By moistening the pollen that it gathers from flowers with this nectar the bee effectively inoculates the pollen with lactobacteria and yeasts.

The Role of Fermenting Agents in Bee Pollen:

* More than 30 million years ago bees developed a method of preserving a food that is richer in protein than meat or fish at a temperature of 36°C in an extremely humid atmosphere.
* Lactobacteria and yeasts in fresh rock rose pollen serve to restore the balance of lactic acid bacteria in the right colon in humans - a protective effect on health.
* Fresh pollen has a protective effect: pathogenic bacteria cannot multiply.
* With dry pollen there is significant growth of pathogenic bacteria. We cannot therefore expect any protection of the intestinal flora from dry pollen.

Probiotic and Prebiotic Effects of Fresh Rock Rose Pollen:

* The intestines are a filter with an area of 300 to 400 square metres and consists of a single layer of cells. These cells are associated with bacteria which affect the operation of the filter.
* Protection of the intestinal mucous membrane can prevent Crohn’s disease in humans:
1. Due to yeasts and lactic acid bacteria.
2. Due to the high levels of carotenoids and xanthophylls in rock rose pollen.
3. Due to very high vitamin E content: 27.8 mg /100 g (corresponding to 40% of the recommended daily allowance in 15 g of pollen).

Effect of Treatment with Dry and Fresh Pollen on the Macroscopic Lesion Score (MLS) in Induced Colitis:

Rats that were given food supplemented with fresh pollen had 40% less lesions on the mucous membrane in the large colon.

Fresh Pollen is FULLY digested:

* When bees collect pollen from flowers it is a light powder. They form this powder into pellets by moistening it with nectar, which is 30 to 40% sugar.
* This sugar is gradually absorbed by the pollen cells.
* When the pollen is placed in water or saliva it absorbs water and then bursts in a process known as osmotic shock.
* Bee bread is pollen that has been lacto-fermented in the hive.
* The cytoplasm which is released from the pollen cell and the antioxidants on its exterior are digestible. * Only the cellulose structure will be evacuated in the stools. It is not at all necessary to lacto-ferment pollen in order to render it digestible.
* Bee bread, like fresh pollen, has high nutritional value but is very difficult to harvest. It is a highly fermented product that is rich in B group vitamins and vitamin K (necessary for blood clotting).

Rock Rose Pollen and Allergies:

* Rock rose pollen is, of course, harvested by bees. It belongs to the family of entomophilous pollens.
* Such pollen has developed as an ideal food for insects; as a food it does not contain any toxins (allergens), and so is unlikely to cause allergies.
* Even better, it is high in vitamin E which, after daily consumption for three weeks, lowers the level of IgE in the blood due to pollen that is windborne (anemophilous). Rock rose pollen is thus very likely to reduce allergic reactions when consumed at an increased dose of 30g/day.