Bee pollen is  pollen from flowers that is collected from bees as they enter the hive. Pollen granules stick to the bees' legs and other body parts as they help themselves to nectar (the precursor of honey) inside the flowers. Many people take bee pollen as an energy booster.

Research evaluation of Bee Pollen contents
Bee pollen has flavonoid constituents that have antioxidant properties. The most predominant compounds in bee pollen are flavonoid glycosides, primarily rutin, quercetin, myricetin, and trans-cinnamic acid.

Source Naturals Bee Pollen pills, 500 mg, 250 Tablets

Bee Pollen is a potent source of energizing nutrition. It contains 18 amino acids, RNA DNA, vitamins A, B-1, B-2, niacin, B-6, B-12, pantothenic acid, folic acid, C, D, E and K, choline, Inositol, rutin and other bioflavonoids, calcium, magnesium, iron & zinc, several enzymes, coenzymes, and many other nutritional factors.

Suggested Use: One bee pollen tablet with breakfast, or as recommended by your health care professional.

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Caution: Bee products may cause an allergic reaction in some people. Discontinue use if this occurs. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, consult your health care professional before using this product. Do not use if either tamper-evident seal is broken or missing. Keep out of the reach of children. Also consider Propolis supplement and Royal-Jelly pills.

Bee Pollen Supplement Facts:
Pure Whole Nugget Bee Pollen 0.5 g
Bee Pollen daily value not established.

Subscribe to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter. Twice a month you will receive an email with a discussion of several studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics - including bee pollen research studies - and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Bee Pollen Allergy - Caution
Certain individuals may have an allergy to bee pollen. An unknowingly sensitized atopic patient experienced an anaphylactic reaction after ingestion of a small quantity of bee pollen that contained pollens and fungi. There have been reports of eosinophilic gastroenteritis caused by bee pollen sensitization.

My bee pollen experience
One day in November 2007 I took two teaspoons of bee pollen in the morning. Within a few hours I noticed having a lot more energy and feeling more talkative and in a better mood. Later on that evening I felt slightly uneasy, slightly sweaty, and feeling a little weak. This went away within an hour or two. As far as a bee pollen supplement, 500 mg or 1000 mg is a good dose.

Bee Pollen Benefit - Summary
It is difficult to say how bee pollen supplements can be useful in medicine or health. At this point I am not ready to recommend the use of bee pollen to treat a particular medical condition since we know so little about its properties and benefits. However, as a dietary supplement, it appears to play a role in health maintenance and provides a good energy boost.

Bee Pollen Research studies
Inhibitory effect of bee pollen and propolis extracts.
Nahrung. 2004 Jun;48(3):188-94.
Bee pollen and propolis were collected from Apis mellifera colonies in five regions of Turkey. The antifungal properties of methanol extracts of pollen and propolis (2% and 5% concentrations) were determined on Alternaria alternata and Fusarium oxysporium f. sp. melonis. The least active concentration towards the tested fungi was 2% concentration of both extracts. The inhibitory effect of all bee propolis extracts on growth of F. oxysporium and A. alternata were generally higher when compared with bee pollen extracts. Both concentrations of propolis extract showed more than 50% inhibition against E. oxysporium. It is suggested that high concentrations of propolis extract could be used as an antifungal agent against tested fungi.

Supercritical CO2 extraction of fatty oils from bee pollen and its GC-MS analysis
Zhong Yao Cai. 2004 Mar;27(3):177-80.
The extraction of fatty oils from bee pollen with supercritical CO2 was studied. The effects of extraction pressure, extraction temperature and the grinding size of the bee pollen on the yields were discussed. The main composition of the fatty oil from the bee pollen was: oleic acid, palmitic acid, linoic acid, pentacosane, octacosane and so on.

Effects of pollen extract upon adolescent swimmers.
Br J Sports Med. 1982 Sep;16(3):142-5.
Many competitive sportsmen in this country regularly use pollen extract as a dietary supplement in the belief that it can lead to an improvement in performance. We have investigated the effects of a six-week course of pollen extract administration on a variety of physiological parameters in a group (n = 20) of adolescent swimmers. At the time of the study, all subjects were training on a daily basis. During the course of the study, maximum oxygen uptake increased in both the treatment group and the placebo group, no difference between the response of the two groups being observed. Vital capacity showed a significant increase in the treatment group, but not in the placebo group. The results indicate that no positive benefit was obtained from the use of pollen supplementation. However, the number of training days missed due to upper respiratory tract infections was much less in the pollen treatment group (4 days) than in the placebo group (27 days). In a study of longer duration, this difference could lead to an improved performance by the pollen treatment group due to fewer interruptions to training.

Bee Pollen supplement email
Q. I have a Bee Pollen question that I need some feedback regarding. I now take a teaspoon of high quality royal jelly and I would like to know if it would be ok to start taking about a teaspoon a day of Bee Pollen along with the royal jelly? The royal jelly works fine but I wanted the added benefits of the bee pollen as well. Is there a superior brand of Bee Pollen?
   A. Each person has a unique biochemistry and it is impossible to predict whether you would benefit from adding bee pollen.