Pollen extracts

Principle Use of pollen extracts and pure flavonoids from the extracts on the germination of pollen-acceptor. 

Murphy, S. D. and Aarssen, L. W. (1995). Allelopathic pollen extract from Phleum pratense L (Poaceae) reduces germination, in vitro, of pollen in sympatric species. International Journal of Plant Science 156 425-434. 

Placebo-controlled immunotherapy with Cocos nucifera pollen extract. Int Arch Allergy Immunol 1994 103(2) 194-201. 

Clavel R, Andre C, Bousquet J Reduction of corticosteroid therapy by sublingual immunotherapy. Double blind study against placebo of standardised 5 grass pollen extract in rhinitis. Allergy 1995 50/26 279. 

Pradalier A, Basset D, Claudel A, Couturier P, Wessel F, Galvain S, Andre C Sublingual-swallow immunotherapy (SLIT) with a standardized five-grass-pollen extract (drops and sublingual tablets) versus placebo in seasonal rhinitis. Allergy 1999 54 819-828. 

Hordijk GJ, Antvelink JB, Luwema RA Sublingual immunotherapy with a standardised grass pollen extract a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Allergol Immunopathol 1998 26/5 ... 

Clavel R, Bousquet J, Andre C Clinical efficacy of sublingual-swallow immunotherapy A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of standardized five-grass-pollen extract in rhinitis. Allergy... 

Vourdas D, Syrigou E, Potamianou P, Carat F, Batard T, Andre C, Papageorgiou PS Double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of sublingual immunotherapy with standardized olive pollen extract in pediatric patients with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and mild asthma due to olive pollen sensitization. Allergy 1998 53 662-672. 

Horak F Immunotherapy with sublingual birch pollen extract. A short-term double blind placebo study. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 1998 8/3 165—171. 

Dolz I, Martinez-Cocera C, Bartolome J A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of immunotherapy with grass-pollen extract Alutard SQ during a 3-year period with initial rush immunotherapy. Allergy 1996 51 489-500. 

Sabbah A, Hassoun S, Le Sellin J, Andre C, Sicard H A double blind placebo controlled trial by the sublingual route of immunotherapy with a standardized grass pollen extract. Allergy 1994 49 309-313. 

Johansson SGO, Deuschl H, Zetterstrom O Use of glutaraldehyde-modified timothy grass pollen extract in nasal hyposensitization treatment of hay fever. Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol 1979 60 447-460. 

La Rosa M, Ranno C, Andre C, Carat F, Tosca MA, Canonica GW Double-blind placebo-controlled evaluation of sublingual-swallow immunotherapy with standardized Parietaria judaica extract in children with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1999 104 425—432. Clavel R, Bousquet J, Andre C Clinical efficacy of sublingual-swallow immunotherapy A doubleblind, placebo-controlled trial of a standardized five-grass-pollen extract in rhinitis. Allergy 1998 53 493-498. 

As far as the direct comparison between SLIT and SCIT is concerned there is a single double-blind double-dummy study published as a full paper [37]. It showed that SLIT had a clinical efficacy superimposable to SCIT (symptoms and need for drugs), but that SLIT was better accepted and tolerated by the patients. Another well-designed rigorous double-dummy trial with birch pollen extract has recently been published in abstract form [38], The study showed that SLIT and injection IT had a similar efficacy, but only with SCIT did systemic side effects of grade III and IV appear, whereas SLIT was comparable to placebo. 

Figure 10 Sample dosage form design for enteric-coated short ragweed pollen extract. (Source Ref. 68.)...

Cactus flower extracts have also been reputed to be of benefit in the treatment of men with BPH, although there are no published studies regarding their clinical effects. A recent study demonstrated such extracts to have 5a-reductase inhibitory activity in cultured foreskin fibroblasts, and also in human placental and prostatic homogenates (Jonas et al., 1998). Cernilton, a pollen extract, has also been reported to have an inhibitory effect on 5a-reductase activity (Tunn and Krieg, 1992)... 

Moverare, R., L. Elfman, E. Vesterinen, T. Metso, andT. Haahtela. 2002. Development of new IgE specificities to allergenic components in birch pollen extract during specific immunotherapy studied with immunoblotting and Pharmacia CAP System. Allergy 57 (5) 423-430. 

Herbal remedies hold a different place in medical practice in many European countries than in the United States. One of the most dramatic examples of the difference is in the treatment of benign prostate disease. This very common condition affects about 25 percent of men in their forties and nearly 80 percent of men who are over 70. In Germany, several hundred million dollars are spent annually on prostate remedies, with 80 percent of that spent on herbal medications. Herbal medications dominate the market for treating nonmalignant prostate disease. They have very few side effects and cost per dose approximately 20 to 35 percent of what synthetic drugs do. Treatment with herbal preparations typically costs under a dollar a day. Four of the most popular in Germany are extracts from the fruit of the saw palmetto, pumpkin seeds, rye pollen extract, and nettle root. 

The fat soluble extract from rye pollen also showed dual inhibition against COX and 5-LOX pathways with IC50 values of 5 pg/ml and 80 pg/ml, respectively. The clinical usage of the pollen extract for benign prostate diseases might due to such dual inhibition activities [200]. 

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